House of Sun

Chapters

New Student
Shut in
Stand Up
Mother
First Date
Secrets
The Mirror
Apologize
The Summer Solstice
The Moon is Rising
Sun and Moon
Fury
Sisters
A New day
Downtime
Debut
The Galloping Gala
Sunset, Moonrise
LoRd oF CHaOs aNd DiSCorD
Fun with a mix of ChAOs
FriENdshIP CoMeS IN ChAOs
The Great and Powerful!!!
Bad Dreams
Nightmare Rarity
Midnight Reign
Twilight Rising
Twilight's Wings
Separated
Making Sweetie smile
Into the Mines
Old fears
Vacation Away!
Welcome to Ponyville
The things you miss, when you're away.
Costa Del Bronco
Something Amiss
Metal Gear Sweetie Belle
A Better Way
A Sweet way to Change...ling
Back to the Vacation!
First Flight
Return to Ponyville
Getting the better of Blueblood
The Forgotten Castle
The Prince Dethroned
Invasion
Assemble the Team
Ponyville Rush
Into the Valley
Garden of Shadows
Invasion (Spike Edition)
Rebellious
Return to Canterlot
Retaking Canterlot
The Storm Passes
Bad to Worse
Rule of Nightmare
Claiming the Sun
Pinkie's Reinforcements
No time to regroup
The Beginning
Big Brother, Best Friend, Forever
Preparing for the Gala
Midnight's End
The Trap is Sprung
Twilight Captured

New Student

Three months had passed since Twilight and her brothers had been adopted by Celestia, though there had been some rough moments throughout those months they were adjusting to their new lives at the castle. Shining was back to spending as much time as he could with Cadence, Twilight continued to go to school and get her regular magic lessons from Celestia. Spike was finally starting to learn to walk on his own, which resulted in Celestia having to keep a more vigilant eye on the young dragon so he wouldn’t hurt himself by accident.

Twilight sat at her desk talking to her friends, bragging about all the fun times she had been having at the palace. Her friends were a little jealous of her, but not in a bitter way. Eventually the teacher entered the classroom and asked the class to take their seats, the young unicorns all sat waiting for the teacher as she made her first announcement.

“Class, before we start I’d like to introduce you all to our newest student.” she said, she raised her hoof towards the door and a young yellow unicorn with red hair entered the room nervously.

“This is Sunset Shimmer, she’ll be starting class with the rest of you starting today. So lets all do our best to make her feel welcome.” The young foals all greeted Sunset together, she smiled back but didn’t say anything it was little embarrassing for her to be given this much attention.

“Now then, why you take the empty seat next to Twilight and Moondancer, Sunset. I’m sure they’ll be eager to help you get settled in.” the teacher said as she pointed to the desk. Sunset walked across the classroom and sat down, she looked over to see Twilight and Moondancer both smiling at her, they knew better to talk during class however and waited with excitement for the chance to talk to the new student.

The school day had come to an end and Sunset began to pack her books into her bag when Twilight and her friends approached her. She looked up and smiled,

“Hi, um...Twilight, right?” she asked. Twilight shook her head yes and replied,

“Yup, these are my friends, Moondancer, Juniper, and Wallflower. Its nice to meet you Sunset.” as she motioned to each of her friends standing around her.

“So did your family just move to Canterlot?” Moondancer asked, Sunset gave an uneasy look.

“I don’t really have any family, I’ve been living at the foster home the last couple of weeks.” she said, Moondancer gasped,

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be mean.” Sunset smiled and reassured her it was okay,

“I’m not bothered by it really, but...” Sunset’s uneasy face changed to a confident grin as she bragged,

“I was picked by Princess Celestia herself to come to this school. I’m just that awesome at magic it turns out.” Twilight and her friends all gasped and smiled with excitement, Sunset was enjoying the attention when Juniper looked at Twilight.

“Just like you Twilight!” she said. Sunset was surprised,

“You know the princess too?” she asked Twilight. Moondancer stepped towards Sunset and announced,

“Twilight spends time with her all the time, she even gets to live at the castle!”

“We only got to go there once for Twilight’s birthday a few weeks ago.” Wallflower added. Sunset was awestruck she looked at Twilight and asked,

“Are you...her daughter or something?” Twilight face became a little disheartened as she sat down,

“No...I...lost my parents a few months ago. But the princess was really good friends with them, so she decided to take care of me and my brothers.” Twilight explained, Sunset started to look nervous she was afraid that she’d upset Twilight.

“Oh, but I’m ok now! I was really sad at first, but the Princess reminded me of all the good things and ponies that I still have.” she answered. Sunset sighed with relief,

“So do you want to be friends Sunset?” Twilight asked,

“Its not easy being the new pony in class, and we’d love to show you around.” The rest of her friends smiled eagerly excited to hear what she had to say. Sunset thought for a moment and finally replied,

“Sure, I mean I don’t really know any pony else. Plus, I might need some help with my homework.” The four of them cheered with delight,

“I know let’s all study at my place tomorrow! We can show Sunset around the city after!” Juniper said. They all looked at Sunset who blushed and agreed.

The young pony’s eventually went their separate ways each going back to their homes, Twilight walked back towards the castle a small cheer in her step as she’d made a new friend. She paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder, a short distance behind her she noticed a trio of griffons. She was curious as to why there were griffons in Canterlot, but it wasn’t unheard of either. One of the three seemed to be watching her which made Twilight nervous, she turned and began to walk back to the castle in a more hurried pace, bothered by the griffons presence more than before.

Cadence walked into the study hall with Spike bouncing on her back, she noticed Shining sitting at the table in the center of the room his school books out, attention focused on his work. He hadn’t noticed Cadence come in, she looked back at Spike and motioned with her hoof for him to be quiet. She slowly snuck up behind him and levitated Spike off her back, she put Spike on the back of his head and Spike playfully let out a small

“Rowr” as he grabbed Shining’s mane. He jumped in surprise and quickly turned to see Cadence laughing,

“Ha ha, very funny Cadence...” he sneered. He took Spike off the back of his head and turned to face Cadence,

“So, decided to do your homework in here for a change?” she asked as she sat next to Shining looking at the books and papers scattered across the desk.

“Yeah, I thought that maybe I could use some of the books in here it’d make it easier. Wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it be though. Not sure how Twily can love going through all these books so much and not fall asleep.” he said. Spike eagerly reached for Cadence, wanting attention, she leaned towards Spike and played with him as Shining held him.

“Soo...um, Cadence...” Shining said nervously, she looked up at him with a smile.

“Since its just the two of us here...I was wondering...if maybe you’d want to go do something this weekend. Like, go to the theater, or spend some time at the park...or you know, whatever...” he asked nervously, his gaze constantly moving from Cadence’s face to the rest of the room. Cadence smiled with glee, and hugged him and Spike,

“Of course we can!” she shouted. Shining smiled and responded,

“Really?! Uh, I mean...yeah that’s cool.” Cadence laughed at him trying to play off as being cool and not nervous about this. But she decided not to tease him about it. The two sat for a moment looking back at each other, Shining slowly started to lean towards Cadence to kiss her. The doors to the study suddenly swung open with a thud, Shining and Cadence both immediately sat upright looking away from each other nervously. A pair of guards stood in the doorway,

“Princess Cadence!” one shouted as he rushed over to her, the other close behind.

“I’m sorry to bother you, your highness, but we thought you might know where Princess Celestia is at. Its an emergency!” Cadence and Shining looked at each other,

“I know where she is right now, what’s the problem?” she asked. The guard handed her a tattered piece of paper and explained to her that it had been delivered to the guards at the castle gates just a few moments ago. Cadence levitated the note over to her and Shining with her magic and unfolded the paper, they read it the note and gasped in horror.

Twilight awoke in a dark room dimly lit room, she tried to move and soon realized her hoofs were bound by rope. A thick piece of cloth was wrapped around her muzzle keeping her from talking. Twilight was terrified, she was just walking home from school, how did this happen? Why was it happening? She thought. She squirmed around eventually sitting upright, she tried to get the ropes off her, first with her hooves then with her magic. It was no good though, the ropes were too tight and she wasn’t strong enough to get them off. Voices arose from behind her, she turned to see a rickety door on the far side of the room, a small flicker of light shining from the crack along the floor.

“How long is this gonna take?” a voice shouted,

“Once Marco gets the bits, we ditch the kid and get on the first train out of town. Quick and easy...” another voice added. The voices spoke back and forth, Twilight frantically searched around trying to find something she could use to escape. Her fear grew as she realized there was nothing in the room aside from her, her abductors were too smart to take chances it seems.

“I still say we should’ve grabbed the pink one...she’d have been worth more.” one the voices groaned,

“Oh right, trying to kidnap an Alicorn, that’s absolutely brilliant. We’d be lucky if she didn’t tear us in half.” the other replied.

“Whatever...what’s taking Marco so long anyway? Been almost two hours now.” a brief silence followed,

“I’m gonna go check on him, shouldn’t take a group a guards this long to bring us some bits.” the other said. The sound of footsteps creaking on wood floors was suddenly interrupted by a massive crashing sound like thunder followed by an explosive thud that shook the building. Twilight froze, her mind raced with what was happening now, her fear quickly was dashed as she soon heard a familiar voice shout aloud.

“WHERE IS SHE!?!” Twilight crawled towards the door,

“Its the princess!” she thought,

“What the buck? Why’s the princess here, I thought you said the note said only for the guards to bring the money!” a voice screamed.

“Your friend was a coward, he gave away your location without so much as a fight. Now I won’t ask again, WHERE IS SHE!?” Celestia demanded. Twilight reached the door, she lifted her hooves to make noise when the sound of fighting erupted from the other side of the door. She sat frozen, she could hear the sound of her abductors shouting in pain as flashes of magic light briefly lit the perimeter of the door as well as the sounds of crashing against the walls. Then there was nothing but silence, Twilight sat still, she couldn’t tell who’d won, she just sat silently.

“Twilight! Twilight! Are you in here!?!” Celestia shouted, Twilight quickly began banging her front hooves against the door making as much noise as she could. The sound of a metal lock snapping interrupted her before the door swung open, the light from the room briefly blinded Twilight. Her eyes adjusted and she looked up to see Celestia standing in the doorway an overjoyed look on her face.

“Twilight!” Celestia’s magic quickly removed her bindings and scooped Twilight up and into Celestia’s front legs. She held her as tight as she could, Twilight instantly started to cry happy to see the princess.

“I’m so sorry Twilight, are you alright? Did they hurt you?” she asked as she held the tiny pony close.

“Momma...” Twilight sobbed, Celestia was surprised to hear her say that. But she didn’t say anything she just wanted to hold her close and make her feel safe.

The guards arrived not long after Celestia’s rescue and quickly detained the griffons responsible. Celestia sat outside the building holding Twilight, she’d managed to cry herself to sleep, and Celestia refused to put her down.

“Auntie!” Celestia turned to see Cadence and Shining approach,

“Oh thank the stars, you found her!” Cadence said as she walked up and hugged Celestia and Twilight.

“Is she ok?” Cadence asked, Celestia nodded with a reassuring smile.

“Yes, she’s shaken but they didn't hurt her at least...” she replied. Cadence and Shining sat on both sides of Celestia,

“I honestly never expected this sort of thing to happen, I didn’t think being connected to me like this would make her a target. Now, I don’t know what to do...Should I take her out of school, teach her myself? Should I give her an escort everywhere she goes? I can’t decide...” Celestia muttered. The three sat silently, Cadence eventually spoke up saying.

“Auntie, I can’t begin to describe how horrible today was...or how scared we all were when that note came...but you know you can’t just lock Twilight away from the rest of the world either.” Shining nodded in agreement,

“She’s right, Twily’s too much of wildcard to try and cage. I think the best thing is just to take things one day at a time. It’ll be a while before she’s back to normal, but we’ll be there for her when she needs us.” he added. Celestia smiled, she thought how amazing it was for her to have these kids in her life, even after after all the misfortune she’d been through, she wondered if she even deserved it.

“Maybe...I’ll just...double the city guard for now, and once she’s ready to go back to school I'll walk her there myself.” Celestia said smiling. Cadence leaned over and hugged Celestia tight, Shining followed,

“Let’s go home Auntie, its about time you lowered the sun anyway.” Cadence said, Celestia nodded and looked at the evening sky, her horn began to glow and slowly the sun set. The stars began to shine one by one, then the moon rose lighting up the night sky. Celestia looked at the full moon and began to wonder, what will she do to protect them...when she returns?

Author's Note

Decided to add in Sunset Shimmer, It bothers me that we know nothing about how she and Celestia had a falling out. I decided to add her in because it makes no sense to me that she was Celestia's student too and somehow never met Twilight, when last I checked they're close to the same age. Leave comments, I'm dying for some feedback people!

Shut in

Cadence opened the door to Twilight’s room, she looked in to see Twilight hiding under her bedsheets her tail sticking out over the side of the bed.

“Hey Twilight, Auntie made breakfast again.” Cadence said,

“Ok...” Twilight answered.

“Do you...want to go to school today? Shining and I can walk you there if you want.” Cadence added. A minute passed before Twilight answered,

“No...I don’t want to go outside today…” Cadence was saddened by her response, it’d been a few days since the incident with the griffons. But Twilight wasn’t showing any real signs of getting better, the closest she’d come to leaving the castle was taking her magic lessons with Celestia in the castle gardens.

“Ok Twilight, but don’t take too long you don’t want your breakfast to get cold.” Cadence said. Cadence made her way to the dining hall, Shining and Celsestia were already eating breakfast, Spike in his baby chair.

“Is she coming down?” Shining asked, Cadence sat next to Shining and began to eat.

“I’m not sure, I keep trying to think of ways to make her feel better...but I can’t think of anything. I’m starting to wonder if there is anything we can do to help.” Cadence replied. A silence fell over the room, Twilight finally came into the dining hall her head hung low, a sad look on her face.

“Good Morning Twilight, how are you feeling today?” Celestia asked. Twilight gave a crooked smile as she started to eat the plate of pancakes in front of her.

“I’m okay...”she said.

“Well, your magic lessons are today. Do you mind if we have them in the garden again? Sunset seemed to like it.” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded yes and kept eating her breakfast, it was hard for Shining to see her like this he thought. She was usually so full of energy and eager to do things. The four of them finished their breakfast in silence, Cadence began to help Celestia put the dishes on the serving cart when Shining walked up to Twilight as she began to leave.

“So Twily, the newest issue of Power Ponies came out today. I was gonna go to the book store to get it, do you want to come along? I’m sure there’s something there that you'd like you too.” he asked. Twilight stood motionless and shook her head no,

“I don’t want to go...I’m just gonna read my books until Sunset gets here...” she said before dashing off to her room. Shining let out a sigh of defeat, the book store was usually a guaranteed way to get Twilight excited but now.

”It was a nice try Shining, but don’t let it get to you.” Celestia said, Shining looked back and nodded.

“Well, I gotta get to school, I’ll see you later.” he said before trotting off.

A few hours had passed and Sunset had arrived at the castle for her and Twilight’s lessons, Celestia had decided to teach them together. She believed they would be a good influence on one another, Sunset’s nature of being a quick study would help inspire Twilight, while Twilight’s friendly nature would make Sunset more social with other pony’s her age. Twilight made her way to the gardens a few minutes later than usual,

“Twilight your late? Did you fall asleep or something?” Sunset asked. Twilight shook her head,

“Twilight, hasn’t been feeling well lately Sunset. It’s also why she hasn’t been back to school.” Celestia quickly added, Sunset looked at Twilight she knew that wasn’t the whole reason but she wasn’t about to pry. Celestia began her lessons, teaching Twilight and Sunset magic regarding small polymorphing of objects followed by some advanced defensive magic. Eventually the three took a break, Celestia sat and drank her tea while Sunset and Twilight ate a few snacks.

“Soo...are you gonna come back to school soon?” Sunset asked, Celestia paused and looked at Twilight concerned.

“I’m only asking cause your friends keep bugging me.” Sunset added. Twilight took a small bite of the brownie she was holding before answering,

“I...I don’t know...” she answered, Celestia became disheartened at her pupils words. She wanted to help her, but she couldn’t think of a way to fix this.

“Well, I think that’s enough for today. We'll finish up the lesson next time, all right girls?” Celestia quickly said. Sunset looked at Twilight and then Celestia, she was suspicious of course. Celestia walked Sunset to the castle gates and assigned a guard to walk her home before returning to Twilight. She laid down next to Twilight and gently wrapped her wing around her,

“Your friends at school miss you Twilight.” she said, Twilight didn’t respond.

“Twilight, I wish I could just undo what happened to you but some things are even beyond my power. But, I want you to know that were all still here for you. It’s like I said to you before, we’ll be here to pick you up when you fall and cry. You just need to let us know when.” Celestia said. Twilight smiled back at Celestia, her words were always comforting to her.

“I just want to stay inside right now.”Twilight answered, “There’s too many scary creatures out there.” Celestia’s smile slowly faded at Twilight’s words, she couldn’t think of anything else to say so she just did the only thing she could think of and just hugged Twilight.

Cadence walked through the castle foyer, her mind was on Twilight and how to help her.

“Maybe, I can go get her some new books? No. What about some of her favorite candies? No. A stuffed animal? No, no Cadence those won’t work, you need to think of something to get her to want to go back outside.” she thought. Cadence walked out into the courtyard and sat down rubbing her hooves against the sides of her head in annoyance.

“Stupid griffons, this is all their fault! Twilight was finally getting better about her parents!” she groaned.

“But we just want to see Twilight.” Cadence looked up in surprise wondering who had said that, over at the gate she could see the guards standing in front of three foals.

“Wait...aren’t those?” Cadence thought, she recognized them as Twilight’s friends from school. She was surprised to see they’d come all the way to the castle, the suburbs were on the other side of town. Cadence smiled as inspiration struck, she quickly sprang to her hooves and approached the gate and the guards. Moondancer took notice of Cadence as she approached and called out,

“Princess Cadence!” she shouted waving her hoof in the air, Cadence walked up with a bright smile.

“Hello girls, what brings you all the way out here?” she asked, intentionally playing dumb. Juniper stepped forward,

“Twilight hasn’t come to school in almost three days!” she sobbed,

“She’s not sick is she?” Wallflower added. Cadence wasn’t sure what to tell them, but she had to say something.

“Twilight’s not sick, but...she’s not feeling good either. I promise its not anything you three did.” Cadence reassured them,

“Can we come in? We wanna see Twilight.” Moondancer asked, Cadence pretended to think for a moment teasing the girls.

“Please...” they all said in almost perfect sync,

“All right, I’m sure Twilight will be happy to see you came out here to see her.” Cadence said, the guards stood aside and the girls excitedly followed Cadence through the castle.

Celestia lay next to Twilight hugging her with wing still, Twilight was being quiet Sunset’s words still bothering her a little.

“Twilight!” a voice shouted, Twilight sprang up surprised and looked behind her Celestia doing the same shortly after. Twilight’s friends rushed across the garden, Cadence following closely behind. They quickly hugged Twilight happy to see their friend,

“You guys, what’re you doing here?” Twilight asked, the three stepped back and Moondancer spoke up first.

“You stopped coming to school, and you missed Juniper’s study group too!” Wallflower nodded in agreement. Celestia walked over to Cadence and whispered,

“Was this your idea?” Cadence smiled and coyly looked away,

“They were at the gates asking the guards to let them in, I thought maybe they could do what we haven’t been able to.” she replied. Celestia and Cadence watched as Twilight talked to her friends,

“I must admit, I haven’t seen her this happy in days. This may just be what Twilight needs right now.” Celestia said. Celestia and Cadence watched as Twilight and her friends spent the next few hours playing in the gardens, eventually the evening came and the three had to say goodbye. But not without promising to come see Twilight again, Cadence decided to walk the girls home herself to put Twilight at ease. Celestia stood at the castle gates with Twilight as she waved goodbye to her friends.

“Well, that was nice of them to come and visit wasn’t it Twilight?” Celestia asked, Twilight gave a warm smile back and agreed,

“I hope they come back again real soon.” she added.

“Don’t you want to see them at school tomorrow Twilight?” Celestia asked, she hoped Twilight would say yes.

“I can even walk you there if you want.” Twilight’s smile slowly faded, she looked away and said,

“I...I don’t know yet...I wanna see my friends, but…” Celestia felt upset, she thought this would work. She knelt down and hugged Twilight close with her wing,

“It’s ok Twilight, I nor any pony else won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. I promise.” Twilight turned and hugged Celestia’s leg, her happy smile returning.

“Now come along Twilight, it’s almost dinner time.” Celestia said as she turned to go back into the castle Twilight following close behind.

Author's Note

Phew, sorry for the long update time. Was on vacation the last couple days and finally got back to my PC. Should have a few more updates in the next few days too. (One good thing about being away from your Pc is it gives you alot of time to brainstorm). Anyway enjoy the newest chapter, and leave a few comments while you're at it.

Stand Up

Celestia began to set the dining table for the rest of her family,

“Morning!” a voice shouted from behind. She turned to see Twilight standing behind her, Spike sitting on her back,

“Oh, Twilight. How nice to see you up first.” Celestia said, Twilight smiled back.

“I woke up Cadence and Shiny too! But I think Shiny might’ve just gone back to sleep.” she added. Celestia walked over and picked up Spike putting him in his baby chair,

“Well the important thing is you told them it was time for breakfast.” Celestia replied, Cadence entered the room yawning, her mane and tail a mess.

“Morning Auntie...” she said as she sat down, Twilight sat in the chair across from her a smile on her face.

“Good morning Twilight, you seem to be in a good mood today.” Cadence said. Twilight nodded excitedly,

“I got to see my friends yesterday, don’t you remember?” Cadence nodded,

“I hope they can come visit again today.” Twilight added, Shining finally entered the dining room looking even worse then Cadence did.

“Good Morning Shining.” Celestia said as she handed a plate of pancakes to each pony at the table. Shining let a low groan, not even close enough to be words before sitting down beside Cadence.

“You look like you didn’t get any sleep last night Shining, are you gonna be ok going to school?” Cadence asked,

“I’ll be fine, just need some breakfast in me is all.” he groaned. Celestia sat down and started to feed Spike as they all ate their breakfast together,

“So what do you want to do today Twilight? I’m guessing you’re not ready to go back to school just yet.” Celestia asked, Twilight looked a little sad but then answered,

“No...not yet, that’s why I wanted to help you out today!” Celestia smiled at her response,

“Oh? What if I need to leave the castle then?” she asked, Twilight thought for a moment but came up with an answer quick.

“I’ll just watch Spike until you get back!” Celestia giggled at Twilight’s answer, and though she did wish Twilight would go to school she was happy to see her getting her energy back.

Celestia walked through the main hall to the throne room, Twilight following alongside her, Spike bouncing on her back.

“So? Are you ready Twilight? My days can get pretty busy.” Celestia asked, Twilight nodded and promised to help her every way she could. The doors to the throne room opened as a small gathering of Celestia’s attendants and a few nobles stood waiting at the base of her throne.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts, I thank you for your patience.” Celestia announced, She walked across the throne room a with the grace of a goddess, Twilight excitedly following behind her. Celestia sat on her throne and looked down at the pony before her, she took Spike from Twilight and held him close in one hoof. Twilight sat next to her, an eager smile on her face.

“Now then, what is the first order of business today?” Celestia asked, a unicorn noble approached and held up a stack of papers.

“Your highness, there seems to be a small trade dispute between merchants in Stalliongrad and Manehatten. Apparently their has been a recent hike in the shipping taxes...” Twilight sat next to Celestia but her smile slowly began to fade, she wanted to help but she didn’t understand what any of these pony’s were even saying. The different pony’s each brought their problems to Celestia, all the while Twilight slowly becoming more and more bored. Eventually Celestia leaned over whispered,

“Twilight, hold on to Spike for me. It’s hard to concentrate with him wiggling around in my hooves, ok?” Twilight smiled and did as she was told happy to finally help in some way. Celestia finally managed to get through all the different nobles and their problems and sighed with relief,

“Are we all done?” Twilight asked, Celestia leaned back in her throne mentally exhausted.

“For now at least, but I’m sure there will be other problems at some point today.” she groaned. Celestia stood up and looked at Twilight,

“Let’s go get some lunch Twilight, it won’t be much longer until Sunset gets here.” she said, Twilight put Spike on her back and followed Celestia to the dining hall. A few servants brought the three a well prepared lunch consisting of salads for Celestia and Twilight and a few small gems for Spike.

“So, what are we doing next?” Twilight asked as she ate, Celestia looked through a stack of papers she had,

“Mostly just signatures, permits, building approvals, nothing too complex.” Celestia answered, she lowered the papers to see Twilight with a confused look on her face, she obviously didn’t understand what Celestia had just said to her.

“Don’t worry, its nothing you need to be concerned with. Now, let’s enjoy our lunch together.”

The time had finally come for Sunset Shimmer to arrive, Celestia made sure that Cadence would watch Spike while she taught Twilight and Sunset.

“All right then, let’s start with multiple levitation today. I’ve got a small group of rocks spread out in a circle, I want you to stand in the center and try to lift as many as you can at once, okay?” Celestia explained. Sunset took her turn first standing where she was told, her horn began to glow with a red aura as eight of the rocks around her began to lift off the ground. The highest any of the rocks was raised was only about three feet, but still impressive considering the number of targets.

“Very good Sunset, excellent work. Twilight, now its your turn.” Celestia said, Twilight eagerly walked past Sunset to take her turn. Sunset of course having a confident smirk on her face as she passed Twilight. The purple pony stood in the center of the stones, she scrunched her face as her horn began to glow, the rocks around her gaining the same pink glow as her horn. All but two of the rocks slowly lifted off the ground, each one staying at the same height and levitating around Twilight, Sunset stood shocked, this was the first time Twilight had been better then her she thought.

“Very good, Twilight. You can stop now.” Celestia congratulated her. Sunset’s face turned red with anger,

“You cheated! What’d you do that was different?” she snapped, Twilight stood back as Sunset approached her angrily.

“I didn’t do anything different, I just followed Mom’s lesson is all.” Twilight stuttered,

“That’s a lie! You’ve never been better than me before! You had...” Sunset continued to shout,

“Sunset! That’s enough, Twilight did nothing different than you. There is no reason to be angry at her for this.” Celestia scolded, Sunset sat back down and looked away annoyed. She didn’t like Twilight being better than her, but she didn’t want to anger Celestia more either. The lesson progressed as usual though Sunset’s competitive nature was showing a little more than usual, but Celestia made sure she wasn't being mean to Twilight about it. After a few more lessons Sunset spoke to Twilight,

“So...how come you’re not coming to school? I mean, I don’t care...but your friends seem to miss you...” Twilight looked away from Sunset an upset look on her face.

“Well...there’s...there’s a lot of scary pony’s and creatures outside the castle...” Twilight answered. Sunset looked confused,

“Their scary how?” she asked. Celestia looked back at Twilight nervous, Sunset wasn’t being mean but she didn’t want Twilight getting upset either.

“They...they might try to hurt me...or take me away from my family...I don’t want that.” Twilight said. Sunset stood up an annoyed look on her face,

“That’s why!?” she marched up to Twilight and scolded her,

“Then fight back Twi! If they’re being mean or scary to you, then show them you aren’t afraid!” Twilight tried not to look at Sunset as she yelled,

“But...but what if I can’t?” she asked.

“Then get your friends to help! Or your family! Or Princess Celestia! And if no one else will, then I’ll do it for you!” she shouted, Twilight began to cower at Sunset’s words when Celestia finally decided to speak up.

“Sunset Shimmer! That is quite enough young mare.” Sunset took a few steps back and sat down more annoyed than before, she was only trying to help and now Celestia was mad at her again. A hush fell over the three of them,

“Do you...do you mean it?” Twilight asked, Celestia and Sunset both looked at Twilight surprised.

“You’ll help if I can’t?” she asked. Sunset looked away her face blushing a little with embarrassment over what she had just said now.

“Well...yeah...I meant it...I mean...were...friends...right?” she muttered. Sunset looked back to see Twilight smiling, she walked over and hugged Sunset tight. Sunset naturally groaned in annoyance rolling her eyes,

“You don’t need to hug me...” she groaned again. Despite her words Celestia could clearly see her trying her best not to smile at Twilight’s hug and affection.

Twilight and Celestia stood at the castle gate, Twilight waved goodbye to Sunset as a guard escorted her home. Celestia was a little upset before but now she was glad that Sunset admitted to being Twilight’s friend.

“Umm...Mom?” Celestia looked down at Twilight a smile on her face,

“Can...you walk me to school tomorrow?” she asked.

“I...I wanna see my friends at school...and Sunset too.” She looked up at Celestia to see her smiling back, Celestia almost felt like she would cry. But instead she just picked up Twilight and hugged her tight, Twilight hugged her back.

“Of course I’ll walk you to school. I’ll walk with you as many times as you want Twilight.” she said.

The next morning Celestia and Twilight walked up to the front gate of the castle,

“Are you ready?” Celesita asked. Twilight nervously hid under Celestia’s legs looking around the streets, she shook her head yes slowly.

“All right, now just stay right next to me as we walk. That’s all there is to it.” Celestia reassured her. The two began to walk to the school Celestia going at a slow pace in order to match Twilight’s speed. Twilight naturally continued to look around her, checking behind her more than anything.

“Are you doing all right?” Celestia asked,

“Uh huh, I’m okay...for now.” Twilight answered, the two continued to walk when a familiar voice called out.

“Twilight!” Celestia and Twilight looked to see Juniper with her uncle, she eagerly ran over and hugged Twilight.

“Are you going to school today!?” she asked. Twilight nodded,

“Yeah...I wanted to see my friends again.” she said. Juniper danced in place excitedly,

“This is so great! We missed you so much!” Juniper and her Uncle walked alongside Celestia and Twilight the two foals talking to each other every step of the way. Before they knew it they’d finally reached the school.

“I’ll see you inside Twilight!” Juniper shouted, she hugged her Uncle goodbye and ran into the building. Twilight stood looking at the school, then looked back to see the castle at the very end of the street.

“See? I got you here safe and sound just like I said.” Celestia said, Twilight looked up at her with a bright smile.

“Cadence and Shining will be right here waiting once school is out to walk you home too. Alright Twilight?” Celestia asked, Twilight nodded excitedly and hugged Celestia once last time. She turned and ran into the school building with a renewed eagerness. Celestia watched with a smile as the door closed behind Twilight,

“Cadence? I’m pretty confident Shining was supposed to be in school himself ten minutes ago...” Celestia looked over her shoulder and after a moment Shining and Cadence slowly emerged from behind the corner of a nearby shop.

“I’m sorry Auntie...” Cadence apologized,

“We just wanted to make sure everything went all right with Twily.” Shining added. Celestia smiled and walked past the two,

“I supposed I can let you skip school this one time Shining...”

Twilight entered her classroom and looked around, she immediately saw her Juniper talking to Moondancer and Wallflower. The three turned to see Twilight and immediately rushed over to greet her,

“Your back Twilight!” Moondancer announced.

“You missed so much! But don’t worry, we’ll help you get caught up fast! We promise!” Wallflower added. The teacher entered the room and told the students to take their seats, Twilight sat at her desk and noticed Sunset slumped over a bored look on her face.

“Hi Sunset!” she whispered, Sunset looked at Twilight out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey Twi...” she replied,

“Glad to see your back.” Twilight nodded and smiled looking towards the front of the classroom eagerly waiting for the teacher to begin the days lesson.

Author's Note

Well this chapter was fun to right, I definitely felt like I had to show Sunset's competitive side a little. But also show how she could still be a good friend with the right motivation as well. Not sure how soon the next update will be, I have an idea of what the next chapter will be about. Just need to figure out to write it out is all. Anyway, leave me some comments and let me know what you think!

Mother

Celestia finished signing the last of the papers on her desk and handed them to the unicorn standing across from her.

“Thank you Kibitz, what’s next?” she asked, he sorted through the papers checking to make sure everything was in order before replying.

“Oh that’s all for today Princess, I assure you I can handle the rest just fine on my own.” Celestia looked at puzzled,

“Are you sure? I thought I was needed as a judge for gardening contest this afternoon?” Kibitz tucked away the papers in an envelope and turned to look at Celestia,

“That won’t be necessary your highness, I’ve seen to it that another pony would be there to fill in for you.” Kibitz began to walk towards the door, Celestia wondered why he seemed so eager to finish her work and stood up.

“Kibitz? Is something the matter? You’ve never taken so much work for yourself like this before.” she asked. Kibitz reached the door and turned to face the princess,

“No Ma’am, I have not.” he replied. Celestia was only more confused by his response and asked why.

“Your highness, I have served you faithfully these last ten years. But within that time never have I seen you in the position you are currently in during said years.” he said. Celestia wondered what he meant,

“You are more than just a princess, now you are also a Mother. And like any good parent, the children under your care need you. So with all do respect Princess, allow me to finish these errands while you go do what you must. Be the mother they need.” Kibitz took a polite bow and left shortly after, Celestia smiled as the door shut behind him. She tried to make time for Twilight and the others, but her duties often got the better of her. But now she would do exactly as she was told and spend time with her new family.

Celestia made her way to the gardens, it was crisp autumn day, clear skies, and the leaves had begun to fall from all the trees. She walked through the gardens before she overheard Cadence and Shining talking, following their voices she found them beneath the trees on the far side of gardens. They sat next to each other, Cadence leaning up against Shining, Spike sat in a pile of gold and brown leaves that was waist high on him playfully throwing them into the air. Cadence occasionally picking a small pile up and dropping them onto his head. Shining took notice of Celestia approaching and greeted her with a smile,

“Oh hi Princess. Is something the matter? I thought you were working.” Celestia smiled,

“Oh no everything’s fine, I managed to get done work early today and thought I’d spend the rest of the day with all of you is all.” she said. Cadence smiled and sat upright looking at Shining then back to her Aunt. Celestia paused and looked around the area.

“I don’t see Twilight...is she with her friends today?” she asked, Shining and Cadence smiled looking at each other,

“Oh no...she’s...around.” he replied. Celestia could tell the two of them were up to something, she slowly walked up to them and asked.

“So where is she then?” Celestia got within a few feet of Cadence and Shining when suddenly a pile of leaves beside Celestia burst into the air, Twilight springing out from beneath them with a playful growl. Celestia stumbled back almost tripping over her own hooves before getting her balance back, Twilight had surprised her good. The three laughed at Celestia for getting scared, Celestia gave a mischievous smile and replied,

“So that’s how it is?” Her horn glow with a gold color and she picked Twilight up holding her in place in front of her.

“No mercy then, Ms. Sparkle!” she added before she spread her wings and began to tickle Twilight relentlessly with her feathers. Twilight laughed and squirmed trying to escape,

“Help, Shiny! Help!” she called out between laughs,

“Sorry Twily...this was your idea. Now you’ve got to deal with the consequences.” he said. Celestia tickled Twilight for another few minutes before finally setting her down.

“So what we should we do today?” Celestia asked,

“Oh, umm...actually Shining and I had plans. If that’s ok?” Cadence asked. Celestia smiled, she knew what the two of them were planning or at the very least a good idea.

“That’s fine, I’ll just spend time with Spike and Twilight then.” she replied, Cadence smiled in excitement and gave Shining a quick nudge before the two walked off.

Celestia walked through the castle halls Spike on her back and Twilight walking alongside her,

“Well then, since its just the three of us. What should we do Twilight?” Celestia asked. Twilight thought for a moment and asked,

“Can we get ice cream?”

“I don’t see why not, do you have any place you want to go?” Celestia replied. Twilight shook her head excitedly,

“Can I get my bag first? I wanna bring a something to read.” Twilight asked. Celestia agreed and the two walked to towards the bedrooms, Spike happily bouncing on Celestia’s back all the way. As they climbed the stairs Cadence passed them saying hi to Twilight and Celestia as she did. Her hair was braided up and she wore a simple dress as she excitedly walked down the stairs. Twilight walked into her room, Celestia paused as she noticed Shining’s door was open. She peeked inside to see him standing in front of his dresser looking into his mirror, he wore a plain collared shirt, his mane brushed back, and was struggling to put on a tie.

“Do you want some help?” Celestia asked, Shining looked up and over at her as she stood in the doorway.

“Yeah...Dad showed me how to do this once, but I can’t remember.” he said. Celestia giggled and walked up to Shining, she set Spike down on his bed and began to fix his tie for him.

“So? Big night planned?” She asked,

“No, just dinner and then the theater...maybe a walk in the park after, you know… star gazing.” he replied.

“I see, I’ll be sure to lower sun on time then just for you two.” Celestia teased. A few seconds passed and she finally fixed Shining’s tie,

“You don’t have to be so nervous.” Celestia said, he looked up at her puzzled.

“It’s just Cadence, she’s liked you since the day you first met. Just remember to be a gentlecolt, and don’t treat her like a Princess, treat her like Cadence.” Celestia reached up and rubbed her hoof on Shining’s mane fixing it to it’s norm.

“And most importantly, just have fun tonight.” Celestia added. Shining stood giving a quiet smile for a moment before he looked up at Celestia,

“I probably haven’t said this enough Princess…but, thank you.” he said, Celestia smiled back, and Shining added.

“I don’t just mean for this just now, I mean...for everything. Taking in me and Twily, for being there for us, I mean it. Really, Thank you.” Shining took a step forward and hugged Celestia with both hooves, she leaned towards him and hugged him back with one leg. The two stood there for a moment before they felt an additional weight on their legs, they both looked down to see Twilight hugging them both. Shining chuckled and took a step back,

“Well, I gotta get going. Cadence is waiting for me downstairs!” he said before rushing out the door. Celestia picked up Spike and put him on her back again.

“Aww...I wish we could go with them.” Twilight groaned, Celestia leaned down to Twilight and said,

“Don’t worry about those two, the three of us are going to have so much more fun tonight!”

Twilight and Celestia sat at the ice cream parlor, Twilight ate her ice cream while Celestia fed Spike.

“We should go for ice cream every day!” Twilight shouted, Celestia giggled at her words.

“You eat ice cream everyday and you’ll get sick Twilight. Its better to enjoy it now and then instead.” she replied. Twilight paused to think for a moment,

“Hmm...I guess that makes sense.” she replied, she went back to her ice cream almost immediately. Eventually they finished their desserts and Twilight looked at Celestia and asked,

“Princess? Can I ask you a question?” Celestia nodded and answered,

“You most certainly may Twilight.” Twilight sat quiet for a moment before asking.

“What was your Mommy and Daddy like?” Celestia paused for a moment then smiled,

“Why do you want to know?” Twilight looked a little embarrassed for asking,

“Well...you know about my Mom and Dad...but its not fair I don’t about yours...” Celestia smiled and picked up Spike rocking him in her hooves,

“Well...my father was a member of the Earth pony militia, but he retired after he met my mother. I remember he spent his retirement as a blacksmith. He would make me help him in the forge as a punishment, stars, it was sooo hot. My mother was a simple farmer, I always thought she was the best at what she did. The day she became village chief of my hometown was such an exciting thing I used to think. I remember how great it was when we’d all get together on clear nights and watch the stars come out one by one.” Twilight listened with an eager smile,

“Did you have any brothers?” she asked, Celestia shook her head.

“What about a sister?” she asked next. Celestia paused, a sad look on her face.

“I had a sister...a long time ago.” she said, Twilight still eager to listen to Celestia asked.

“Is she still around? Can I meet her one day?” Celestia looked at Twilight, bad memories slowly began to surface in her mind. She reached up and wiped her eyes,

“I’m sorry Twilight, I don’t think that’s possible….she...she and I haven’t spoken in a long time...” Twilight could tell she’d upset Celestia and sat back down in her chair, the nearby clock tower began to ring alerting Celestia. She turned to look at the time,

“Oh, that time already?” she said, she stood up from her chair and put Spike on her back,

“Let’s go back to the castle Twilight.” Twilight nodded and hopped down from her chair grabbing her bag as she did, Celestia walked over and picked Twilight up and put her onto her back alongside Spike.

“Now hold on to Spike for me Twilight, I’ve got one last surprise for you tonight.” Celestia said, Twilight smiled excited and did as she was told. Celestia spread her wings and with a single beat leapt into the air and flew into the sky. Twilight cheered with excitement as they flew to the castle, Celestia came to a hover over the city and faced towards the evening sun.

“Now pay attention Twilight, this is where it gets exciting.” she said, Celestia turned towards the sun and closed her eyes her magic glowing from her horn. Twilight and Spike stared in awe as they could see all of Canterlot as the sun slowly set giving way to the night sky.

Celestia gently set Spike in his crib, tucking him into his blankets as he slept peacefully. She walked out to the balcony of her room to find Twilight lying on a pillow a blanket covering her up, Celestia laid down next to her.

“I had a lot of fun today, can we do this again?” she asked. Celestia nodded and replied,

“I certainly hope so, though what do you say we get Shining and Cadence to join in next time?” Twilight smiled and shook her head yes in excitement. Celestia looked up towards the night sky, she and Twilight sat quietly looking at the stars. A shooting star quickly streaked across the sky lighting up the night for a moment,

“Lucky Star!” Twilight called out. Celestia smiled and said

“It is, did you make a wish?” A second passed,

“Uh huh...Did you make a wish Tia?”, Celestia gasped she knew that voice and it wasn’t Twilight. She looked down to see a small blue pony lying beside her smiling back,

“What did you wish for?” she asked. A chill went down Celestia’s spine, her breathing becoming heavier when a more sinister voice whispered to her.

“Well?...What did you wish for Celestia?”

Celestia’s heart froze she sprang to her hooves and looked toward the moon, slowly the moon became emblazoned with a black aura and the night sky slowly turned to a sinister red. The image of the alicorn on the moon slowly became distorted and began to fade.

“No...No, no, no...this is too soon!” Celestia thought,

“The solstice is still years away, I’m not ready for this...” the fear gripped Celestia, she didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t think. She looked to the edge of the balcony and there...she saw a shadowy figure of an Alicorn, her emerald eyes staring back at her. Celestia's breathing was getting heavier, she had to get Twilight, Spike, Shining, and Cadence she thought. She had to run, she couldn’t do this, not now. The figure slowly began to march towards, Celestia couldn’t move the fear had gotten to her. Then she felt a hoof on her side, she snapped out of her panic and looked down to see Twilight lying beside her.

“Are you ok Princess?” Twilight asked, Celestia looked to the edge of the balcony to see no pony was there, she looked to the moon and sky to see everything was normal again. She let out a deep sigh of relief, she turned towards Twilight and said,

“Yes, I’m ok now Twilight...just, bad memories is all...” Twilight stood up and asked,

“Do you want a hug? Cadence says hugs make every pony feel better.” Celestia smiled and leaned down to hug Twilight,

“And she is right, a hug will make any pony feel better.” Twilight hugged Celestia tight as she wrapped her leg around her to hug her. But Celestia knew what she saw, the binding was getting weaker, she couldn’t stop her return now. It was finally time for her to make precautions, she needed to be ready, she needed to protect her family.

Author's Note

Phew, this chapter was fun to write! Needed to get a chapter in that had Celestia just being a good mom and I think I did just that. Also felt I needed to drop some more foreshadowing for Nightmare Moon. Next chapter should be up in a few days, just as a teaser, next chapter will focus on Shining and Cadence's first date. Enjoy, and leave some comments!

First Date

Shining rushed down the stairs eagerly, he made his way to the courtyard of the castle and found Cadence waiting patiently dressed in a yellow dress her mane braided up.

“Sorry for the wait, had a little more trouble with the tie then I was expecting.” he said, Cadence smiled and replied.

“You didn’t need really need it, but I appreciate the thought at least.” The two walked into the city the sun shining down on them,

“So what do you have planned first?” Cadence asked, Shining smiled and answered,

“Dinner reservations at Zesty Gourmand’s own restaurant.”

“Oooh, how’d you manage that one? Its not exactly cheap getting reservations there.” Cadence teased. Shining scratched the back of his head nervously in response,

“You’re right, its really not...I used a lot my saved up bits just to get the table...”

They made their way to the restaurant, Shining naturally held the door open for Cadence, she smiled as she walked in and waited for to him as he walked up to the waiter at the counter. Shining confidently walked up and said,

“Reservation for two, under Shining Armor.” The waiter silently looked over his books and after a moment found the name,

“Right this way please.” he said as he guided them to their table. The two sat down, another waiter approaching shortly after and giving them a small basket of bread and a glass of water each.

“I’m kinda surprised Shiny, I didn’t expect you to go this far just for our first date.” Cadence said.

“Well, I wanted it to be memorable you know? I mean, who knows how we’ll look back on this a few years from now right?” he said. Shining looked down at the table and noticed the large assortment of silver ware lying in front of him. Cadence noticed the growing nervousness in his face,

“You don’t know how to use silverware in high society do you?” she teased. Shining tried to come up with an answer that would be convincing, but he couldn’t think of anything that Cadence would believe. Cadence giggled and leaned close to Shining and whispered,

“Just start from the outside and try not to be obvious about it.” Shining nodded. A voice called out to Cadence suddenly,

“Princess Cadence?” Cadence’s smile quickly disappeared and she slumped forward putting her hoof to her face,

“Oh no...not now...” she groaned. Shining looked behind her to see a well dressed Unicorn approach them,

“Cousin, it has been far too long.” he said as he walked up beside the table. Cadence took a deep breath and sat up a forced smile on her face.

“Blueblood, how nice to see you.” she said gritting her teeth as she smiled back.

“You as well, I believe the last time we saw one another was at the last Galloping Gala event. Such a lovely evening, don’t you agree?” he asked, Cadence continued to give a forced smile nodding to his words. Shining could tell she was annoyed and spoke up,

“Ahem, if you don’t mind. Cadence and I are here together, kind sir.” Blueblood looked at Shining his eyes looking him over judging and inspecting his appearance.

“Odd that would bring one of your attendants with you Cousin.” he said,

“Attendants?!”, Shining thought.

“But I suppose you can’t be expected to do any heavy lifting or other menial tasks yourself. So I completely understand.” Shining was getting angry quick, he could see why Cadence was annoyed now.

“Actually, I just remembered that there was something I needed to take care of. So if you’ll excuse us, we really need to be going right Shining?” Cadence asked. Shining nodded in agreement and muttered,

“Oh absolutely, we have to go now before its too late.” Blueblood spoke again,

“Oh I understand Cousin, do say hello to Aunt Celestia for me when you see her.” Cadence and Shining quickly stood up and began to walk to the door in a rush,

“Oh but of course, I’ll be sure to do just that. Goodbye!” she said as they walked away. The two left the restaurant and stood outside the front door,

“Ugh...” Cadence groaned,

“Of all the times I had to run into him...” Shining sighed and asked,

“HE’S related to Princess Celestia?” Cadence took a deep breath and explained how Blueblood’s parents were friends of Celestia’s and he was only really a nephew in name, no real blood connection and he wasn’t adopted like she was. The two stood silent for a moment before Shining asked,

“So what now? Dinner just got ruined...” Cadence gasped just realizing what they’d done,

“Oh no, Shiny I’m so sorry...you spent so much money on all this and I just...” he shook his head and smiled,

“It’s ok, this place was too rich for my tastes anyway. You wanna try for something cheaper maybe?” Cadence smiled and thought for a moment,

“Well, there’s always Cinnamon Chai’s right?”

The two pony’s sat out front of Cinnamon Chai’s tea shop, each eating a small cake each while drinking tea.

“Sorry you had to spend more money today, Shiny. I know it wasn’t exactly what you planned.” she said. Shining took a sip from his drink and set the cup down,

“Yeah, it could’ve gone better back there. But if it meant getting away from that guy then I’m okay with it as long as you are.” he reassured Cadence. She smiled back and took a few more bites from her cake. Shining finished his tea and Cadence asked,

“So? What’s next on the big agenda?” Shining gave a big smile and pulled two tickets from his shirt pocket,

“Well its not exactly a theater performance like I promised, but I thought you’d might enjoy it.” he said. Cadence looked at the tickets and read what they said aloud,

“The Wondrous and Enigmatic Jack Pot, magic show. OH! That does sound like fun actually!” Shining smiled eagerly,

“Really? I was kinda worried you’d hate it.” he said. The two finished their tea and cake and quickly set off for the park where the show was being held.

Cadence and Shining arrived at the park, a small area had been blocked off where the show was being held. Shining approached the ticket vendor and gave him the tickets receiving two ticket stubs in return. Cadence followed her date through the seats, she was surprised to see he had gotten them front row tickets. Cadence sat down and smiled as Shining sat next to her, she looked beside to see an older yellow mare sit one seat away from her along with a small blue pony with a white mane sitting next to Cadence. The little mare was about Twilight’s age she thought, and wore an over sized purple cape with stars printed all across and seemed really excited for the show to start. A hush went over the audience as a booming voice began to narrate,

“Mare’s and Gentlecolts, prepare yourselves for the mysterious, the thrilling, the mind bending illusions, of the Wondrous and Enigmatic Jack Pot!” and in a cloud of gray smoke a blue Stallion appeared on stage. He wore a lavish purple suit and top hat with a regal pearl white cape draped across his back. The audience cheered at his arrival as he took a polite bow,

“Thank you, thank you all from coming today. Now prepare yourselves as I show you illusions and magical feats the likes of which you have never seen!” he announced as he pulled a bouquet of flowers from his sleeve. Shining and Cadence watched as the show went on, the magician performing a variety of magic tricks wowing the audience the entire time. Cadence giggling as she would see the blue foal beside her becoming more excited than most of the audience by Jacks Pot’s performance. The show had finally reached its end and Jack turned to the audience as a large box with a question mark printed on it was brought on stage,

“Now! For my final illusion this evening, I will need a volunteer from the audience.” he shouted. The young foal beside Cadence immediately jumped to her back hooves and began to frantically wave her hoof in the air almost desperate to the get magicians attention. He stood on the edge of the stage looking around for a moment before looking down at the front row, he gave a warm smile and pointed to the little mare sitting next to Cadence.

“How about you little mare? Would you mind coming up to the stage?” he asked. In an outburst of excitement she leaped out of her seat and rushed to the stage, she rushed over and stopped beside Jack bouncing in place. Some of the audience laughed at her enthusiasm,

“Now then mare’s and gentlecolt’s, pay close attention to what happens next.” he spoke up. He set his top hat down on the floor and opened the box guiding the small pony into it.

“Now don’t you go anywhere.” he said, she nodded in excitement as he closed the box. He turned back to audience throwing his cape over his shoulder,

“And now behold my greatest of tricks!” he announced, and with a quick tap on the box it instantly fell apart the pony inside nowhere to be seen. Cadence gasped in awe, Shining smiling at how invested she was in the show. Jack began to walk about the stage asking the audience playfully where the young pony could have disappeared to.

“Perhaps to another place in the city? Maybe another world? Or perhaps...” he quickly picked his top hat off the floor as a cloud of smoke erupted from beneath it slowly revealing the young pony.

“Right here!” he shouted, the entire audience erupted in applause.

The show was over and Shining and Cadence walked away from the show towards the bridge overlooking the pond in the park.

“That was so exciting, next time we should bring Twily and Spike! I bet they’d love it!” she said. They sat down by the edge of the pond and looked at the evening sun,

“Only one thing left to do now.” Shining said.

“Oh? And that is?” Cadence asked playfully,

“Watch the sunset together, then maybe just watch some stars.” he said. Cadence leaned up against Shining and looked up at the sky, she could feel how warm he was, his breathing, even hear his heartbeat, she didn’t want this moment to end she thought.

“Cadence? What are the chances of seeing you here as well?” Cadence’s mood was instantly ruined, she knew who’s voice that was and grumbled.

“Are you kidding me!?” She and Shining turned to see Blueblood walking down the bridge next to them.

“To think you’d be out in the park, I myself come through here to get home every night.” he said as he approached. Shining had enough and decided to speak up this time.

“Yes, she’s here, with me! On a Date! That you are interrupting, AGAIN!” Blueblood stood silent before suddenly laughing aloud,

“With you? Oh please, as if someone as elegant as my cousin would date such a lowly common pony like you.” he said while poking Shining in the chest.

“Well she is, and who’re you calling common?” Shining snapped back. Blueblood rolled his eyes in an obnoxious manner,

“Why you of course, you’re certainly no upper class Stallion. Not like myself of course.” Shining stood up and faced towards Blueblood,

“Well, you must not be keeping up on current events then. Because Princess Celestia, adopted me, my Sister, and baby brother recently. Which technically makes me more upper class than you.” he shouted as he poked Blueblood back. Blueblood’s face turned to an angry expression,

“Well I suppose Aunt Celestia needed to perform a charity case at some point.” he replied.

“Charity Case?!” Shining snapped back,

“Oh, was that too complex for you? You see sometimes the nobility has to appease the lesser pony’s by making them believe their important some way or another. I’m sure that’s all your ‘adoption’ was really.” Blueblood answered. Shining had finally lost his temper and shouted,

“You take that back! Right now! Apologize!” Blueblood leaned back as Shining got into his face,

“Apologize for the truth? Really, you are simpleton too it would seem.” Blueblood gloated. Shining lunged forward tackling Blueblood and began to wrestle with him in dirt, all the while demanding he apologize. The two continued to fight exchanging blows and rolling around, Blueblood managed to get his rear hooves into Shining’s stomach and push him back and into the pond. Shining splashed into the water emerging a moment later coughing and choking on the water he’d swallowed, he looked back at Blueblood who stood on the shore watching Shining marched towards him angrily when suddenly Cadence stepped between the two.

“ENOUGH!!!” she shouted at Blueblood,

“You have ruined my date night!” she screamed at Blueblood, he backed away as Cadence stomped towards him,

“Cousin? What do you mean I...” he stuttered, but Cadence quickly interrupted.

“You pompous, arrogant, snot! This was our first date! We were supposed to have fun! But instead you showed up, and treated Shining like a joke! And I’ve had it! So you’re going to leave us alone right now, or I’m going to shove my hoof so far up your flank pony’s will mistake you for my new hoof puppet!!! NOW LEAVE US ALONE!!!!” Cadence stood silent her breathing heavy, the fear in Blueblood’s face was more than apparent.

“Well, of course, Princess...I’ll leave right away since you asked.” he stuttered. Blueblood quickly turned and fled, Shining watched a little nervous himself, he didn’t know Cadence could get this angry. Cadence stood upright putting her hoof to her chest and slowly exhaling as she moved her hoof away. She turned to face Shining who was still sitting in the pond, an awestruck look on his face. Cadence blushed a little thinking about her outburst just now,

“Uhh...sorry about that. I guess I lost my temper.” she said. Shining sat silent and whispered,

“That was hot...” Cadence looked up and asked if he had said something,

“Uhh, that was...NOT a problem. I mean, he kinda had it coming right?” he quickly answered. Cadence walked up to the edge of the water, she and Shining looked up to see the night sky was already out.

“Aww man, that idiot...we missed the sunset, and I’m soaking wet to boot...” he groaned. Cadence looked back at Shining, he smiled back at her. She grinned and took one flap of her wings and jumped into the air and dove into the pond behind him with a loud

“Wheee!!!” She popped out from under the water and walked up to Shining,

“Now were both wet!” she said, they laughed together and Cadence leaned against Shining looking at the full moon.

“You know, there is one thing left for us to do...” he said, Cadence turned and asked,

“What’s that?” Shining quickly leaned forward and kissed Cadence, she was surprised, but then she closed her eyes and decided to enjoy the moment. Shining pulled away and looked at Cadence the two pressing their foreheads together their horns crossing.

“So…does this mean were dating now?” she teased,

“Do you need another kiss to find out?” he asked. Cadence smiled and whispered in his ear,

“Yes...”

Author's Note

Sorry this one took so long to write, long story short. My job has been exhausting these last couple days and I haven't had time to write. I'll try and get the next few chapters done soon as I can. Also hope everyone enjoyed the little cameo I threw in there from Equestria's greatest and most powerful Unicorn. Also quick forewarning next chapter there will be a time skip, want to get Spike more involved in the story and can't really do that with him being a baby and all. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the story and leave me some comments!

Secrets

Over the next few years word of Celestia’s adopting the Sparkle children had quickly spread across Equestria. Many saw this as a grand act of kindness on Celestia’s behalf and the love for her family quickly rose. It wasn’t long before Twilight, Spike, and Shining were accepted as true members of the royal family and soon after the pony’s of Equestria began to affectionately call them “the House of Sun” in honor of their foster Mother. Twilight would continue to study under Celestia as her student day in and day out, while Shining would go on to join the Royal guard and with no aid from his Mother quickly rise in rank to captain. Cadence would soon become Celestia’s representative and act on her half when the Princess herself was unavailable. Spike would become well know amongst the pony’s of Equestria and often be seen aiding the citizens of the city and acting as voice for the people at times. While Celestia herself could not be more proud of the children she had adopted and seen grow, she still harbored a deep sense of worry, for no other creature knew what the Summer Solstice would soon bring…

“Ready Twilight?” Sunset asked a confident grin on her face,

“Bring it! Just no enlargement or growth spells this time...you remembered what happened last time.” Twilight answered. Sunset rolled her eyes and groaned,

“I know, but I did fix the roof afterwards. Don’t know why everyone got so worked up over it.” The two stood silent in the castle library watching each other,

“Polymorph!” Sunset shouted as she turned a nearby book into a small figurine of herself, Twilight did the same only her figurine was less detailed. Twilight groaned in frustration,

“Ha! I win the first round! Your pick!” Sunset said with smile,

“All right, mass levitation!” Twilight shouted, her horn began to glow as all the nearby bookcases began to lift off the ground, the books scattering and flying around Twilight. Sunset’s horn glowed with her red aura and lifted the shelves near her, however the books only seemed to lift from the shelves and fall to the ground around her. The two set everything back down gently and Twilight shouted,

“Ha! One and One now Sunset!” Sunset sat and began to think for a moment, she grinned and stood up and announced,

“Teleport!” In a flash of pink and red magic the two instantly moved to the castle study, another flash and they were in the gardens, then the courtyard, and finally back to the study. Twilight’s horn lost its glow and began to spark, she pat with her horn with her hooves over and over.

“My win!” Sunset said, though it was obvious she was trying not to show she was tired.

“Yeah, yeah, the scores only 49 to 51 now...I’ll close that gap before you know it.” Twilight replied. Sunset laughed and began to put the books she had dropped earlier back on the bookshelves,

“Please Twilight, we both know I’m the better student here.” Sunset playfully taunted, Twilight helped put some of the books on to the higher shelves and answered.

“Oh yeah, but who’s a part of the House of Sun?” The two glared at each other angrily for a moment, then suddenly began to laugh, Twilight and Sunset began to finish putting everything back in order, Sunset picked up her bags and threw them across her back.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow Twi.” she said, Twilight smiled but then noticed a red book lying on the floor.

“Oh, we missed one.” she said, Sunset stopped to see what she was talking about. The book glided over to Twilight as she looked at its cover.

“Huh, I don’t think I’ve seen this one before. And I thought I read every book in here...the Elements of Harmony?” Sunset walked over to Twilight to look at the book,

“Elements of Harmony? What’re those? I’ve never heard of them.” she asked. Twilight set the book down on the table and the two began to read the book, the book spoke of two princesses. One of the sun, another of the moon, how the two once ruled Equestria in a time of peace. But the Moon princess eventually became jealous of the others fame and threatened to cast Equestria into eternal night. No choice left the princess of the sun would use the Elements of Harmony to send the other princess away bringing peace and Harmony back to Equestria.

“Moon and Sun princess?” Twilight asked Sunset,

“Is this about Princess Celestia? I thought she and Cadence were the only two Alicorns.” Sunset replied. The two sat thinking for a moment Sunset looking over the books pages again,

“I wonder if Mom knows about this book...maybe I should ask her.” Twilight said, Sunset rolled her eyes and replied.

“Well you have fun with that. I’m heading home.” Twilight said goodbye and Sunset left soon after. Twilight looked over the book and couldn’t help but wonder why this felt familiar to her, she picked up the book and walked out of the library determined to ask Princess Celestia about it herself.

Princess Celestia sat at her desk, Kibitz handing her papers to sign as she drank her afternoon tea. A knocking came at the door as she paused to look up.

“Come in.” Celestia said, the door opened and Twilight cautiously entered,

“Hi Mom, is this a bad time?” she asked. Celestia looked at Kibitz who handed her the last of the papers, she signed them and Kibitz quickly gathered them up. He took a polite bow and walked out of the of the office but not before greeting Twilight properly.

“So? What seems to be the problem Twilight? Did Spike and Shining claim the study for game night again by chance?” she asked. Twilight scoffed and said,

“No, nothing like that. Its about a book I found in the library just now.” Celestia took a sip from her tea and asked which book she was referring to. Twilight sat down next to her desk and lifted the book in front of her,

“Umm...Mom? Are there any other Alicorns besides you and Cadence?” she asked. Celestia paused for a moment, she set her tea cup down and asked.

“Why do you ask?” Twilight turned the book around to show Celestia the illustrations,

“Well, this is about you isn’t it? And I was wondering if whether or not it was true.” she asked, Celestia sat silent for a moment. Twilight could see a bit of hesitation in her face.

“This is just an old foal’s tale Twilight, not much different from the stories about how Nightmare Night first began. I promise its nothing to be concerned about.” Celestia answered, Twilight could tell something was wrong. But she didn’t want to press the matter either,

“Well ok, if you say so. I just thought I’d ask you first is all.” Twilight closed the book and walked over and hugged Celestia,

“Sorry for bothering you about this, I’ll let you get back to work now.” she said, Twilight left Celestia’s office she stood outside the door and began to think for a moment. She didn’t want to distrust Celestia’s words, but her curiosity made her want to know if there were any other Alicorns out there.

“I’m telling you Spike, she seemed like she was hiding something...” Twilight said, she sat in the study looking over the book again. Spike was busy setting up the table, bottles of cider, bags of chips, Game master’s screen, and figures for Ogres and oubliettes placed all across the table.

“You sure you’re not just obsessing over nothing again? Why would Mom need to hide something like this from us?” Spike asked. Twilight kept going through the pages over and over,

“But what if there’s more to this than what the book says? What if this is some kind of warning that every pony forgot about?” Twilight pressed her hooves against her head in frustration,

“I wish had some more answers!” she slumped forward against the floor her face buried between her front legs.

“Did you ask Cadence?” Spike replied, Twilight lifted her head,

“Cadence was a pegasus before she became an Alicorn, and she’s almost the same age as Shining. I doubt she’d know anything more than I do.” she groaned. Spike hopped down from the chair he was standing on and walked over to Twilight,

“If Mom won’t say anything then why not find out for yourself, you can’t tell me there isn’t any pony who doesn’t want to help you.” he said. Twilight sprang to her hooves a smile on her face,

“That’s it Spike! I’ll get Sunset to help!” She quickly levitated a piece of paper and quill to Spike,

“Take a note Spike.” she said, Spike rolled his eyes in response and began to write down what Twilight was about to say.

“Sunset Shimmer, meet me at Cinnamon Chai’s cafe tomorrow morning. I need to discuss something with you that I can’t trust any pony else with. Your friend, Twilight.” she announced. Spike finished writing and rolled up the paper, a quick breath of magic fire and the smoke quickly left the room to travel to its recipient.

“Oh my stars, this is so exciting! I’ve never done something like this before! Researching something without Mom’s knowledge!” Twilight danced in place excitedly before walking out of the room with her book in tow. Spike stood silent and rolled his eyes,

“Oh brother...”

The next day came and Twilight sat excitedly at a table in the corner of the cafe. She was trying her best to contain her excitement, almost bouncing with eagerness in her chair. Sunset finally entered the cafe, she looked around and noticed Twilight waving and smiling. Sunset rolled her eyes at how much of a dork her friend was being. She walked over to the counter and ordered some coffee and then sat down with Twilight.

“Okay Twi, what’s the big emergency?” she asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

“I’m glad you asked, I was up all night making notes, I tried not to do any research because that’s why I wanted to talk to you. But I got carried away, and did a little research and found some things, but not everything and that’s why I need your help!” Twilight rambled on as she pulled a stack of papers and scrolls as well as the book from yesterday from her saddle bag and placed them across the table. Sunset looked over the papers in front of her,

“Sooo, this is about the book from yesterday?” she asked, Twilight nodded in excitement.

“Yes! I asked my Mom about it and she said it wasn’t anything to worry about, but I could tell she wasn’t telling me everything, then I talked to Spike, and he said I should find out on my own, and that’s when I had him send you that letter!” Sunset looked at Twilight surprised and asked,

“You’re doing this without Princess Celestia knowing? Wow Twi, you’re turning into a regular rebel.” Twilight leaned back in her chair her smile faded and muttered,

“I mean, I really do trust her...and I want to believe what she says but...” Sunset looked at Twilight her face turning serious,

“But you think there are things she’s not telling us too?” Sunset replied. Twilight looked up at Sunset,

“Are you talking about the book?” Twilight asked, Sunset scratched the back of her head.

“Yes and no, it’s just that...well, I’ve been doing a little studying without the Celestia’s knowledge too is all...” Twilight looked at Sunset concerned,

“What kind of research?” she asked. Sunset smiled and hopped out of her chair,

“Come on Twi, let’s go back to the castle. I’ve got something to show you.”

Sunset and Twilight walked through the dark halls of the castle depths,

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in this part of the castle before...” Twilight said as she looked around.

“I’m not surprised, I had to find out about it all on my own.” Sunset replied,

“Here it is.” the two reached an old door, a large ancient combination lock holding it shut. Twilight gasped with excitement,

“Is that an ancient element lock? Clover the clever invented these, they have over two thousand possible combinations for opening them. Whatever’s in here must be really important.” Sunset nodded and pulled a book from her saddle bag, she looked over the book and tinkered with the lock. The gears turned and with a loud click the lock opened the doors slowly opening to reveal the interior of the room. Sunset walked into the room Twilight following behind her, glass display cases were arranged all around the room, pieces of old artifacts and Equestrian gems and weapons placed within each.

“I could spend days in here, just trying to catalog everything alone could take forever!” Twilight said with excitement,

“Yeah, but what were here for is this...” Sunset said as she held up her hoof to show Twilight a large mirror placed at the back of the room. Twilight walked up and asked,

“A mirror? What’s so special about this?” Sunset flipped through the pages of the book she had and showed Twilight her notes,

“This is one of several mirrors all across Equestria Twi, they’re said to be gateways to other worlds unlike anything any pony has ever seen!” Twilight looked over Sunset’s notes and looked up at her with a smile,

“Really? Does it work?” she asked. Sunset shook her head,

“No, not right now at least. But! I think this mirror does more than just take pony’s to other worlds. I think it also shows you the future!” Sunset said, her excitement growing. Sunset quickly walked behind Twilight and began to push her in front of the mirror,

“When I look at it, I see myself as an Alicorn Twi! An actual Alicorn! Wings made of fire, and everything. Go ahead you look too!” she said. Twilight stood in front of the mirror, she was feeling nervous all of a sudden. Something about this felt wrong to her, she turned and looked to see her reflection in the mirror. Slowly, the image rippled like the surface of water, then she saw Shining appear beside her, then Spike, Cadence, and finally Celestia. Twilight smiled, happy to see this is what the mirror showed her. Then, she noticed another pony appear beside Celestia. A pony she didn’t recognize, a blue Alicorn draped in black regalia, a crescent moon printed across her chest. Twilight slowly inched toward the mirror trying to get a better look when Sunset spoke up,

“Well!?” Twilight looked at Sunset surprised, she looked back to see the mirrors reflection was just her again.

“What’d you see? You were an alicorn too right?” Sunset asked excitedly. Twilight shook her head,

“No...it was just me, and my family...but there was some pony I didn’t recognize too...” Twilight was suddenly cut off as a voice echoed through the room.

“Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle...I hope you have a good explanation for this...” The two turned and there they saw standing in the doorway was Celestia with two Unicorn guards by her side.

Author's Note

That was easy to write, good news is I've got a good idea how the next two or three chapters are going to go and should be able to get them up quick. Assuming my job doesn't get the better of me again. Next chapter should conclude the "Sunset Shimmer arc" after that I'll finally start on Nightmare Moon. Hope you enjoyed this, leave me some comments!

The Mirror

A silence fell over the room as Celestia stared back at her students angrily,

“Well?” she said. Sunset and Twilight looked at each other nervous,

“We...we were doing some research, about the book I had found earlier. And Sunset thought maybe there might be something here that could help.” Twilight explained. Celestia looked at Sunset, who looked away still unsettled, Celestia began to walk towards the two explaining as she did.

“I can understand that the two of you would want to seek more knowledge, and I am the last pony who would tell you not to learn something new. However...” Celestia stopped speaking as she felt something beneath her hoof, she looked down to see Sunset’s book on the floor. Celestia’s expression turned to one of shock, she picked up the book and looked through its pages, noticing Sunset’s notes scribbled throughout it.

“Sunset, where did you get this?” she asked, a small bead of sweat began to build on Sunset’s face as she spoke,

“From the castle library, it was covered in dust when I found it. I think it got left there a long time ago.” Celestia glared angrily at her she knew Sunset was lying.

“You took this from the restricted section, a book detailing dark magics. Something I have told both you and Twilight not to pursue.” Celestia said the tone of anger in her voice growing. Twilight looked at Sunset surprised,

“What? That’s where that came from? You didn’t mention that!” Twilight said. Celestia placed the book under her wing and took a deep breath,

“Twilight, Sunset, you two are the best students I’ve had in years and I could not be prouder at how far you’ve grown. But please understand that not all magic is safe, I’ve seen firsthoof the destructive power it brings with it far too many times. I’ve seen noble kings turn into controlling tyrants, powerful unicorn mages disappear entirely from existence and...” Celestia paused a sad expression on her face,

“...and, I’ve seen loved ones turn into nightmares. There will come a time when you’re ready to learn about these things. But believe me when I say you’re not ready now.” Celestia gestured for them to leave the room, Twilight began to walk towards the door when Sunset muttered.

“Will we ever?” Celestia and Twilight looked back at her,

“I beg you pardon?” Celestia asked. Sunset looked up and snapped at Celestia,

“Will we ever be ready? You choose the two of us out of all the pony’s in Equestria for a reason, and I think I know why! This mirror showed it to me, it’s because you know we could be Alicorns! Just like Cadence, just like you! And that scares you doesn’t it? Knowing that maybe Twilight and I could become more powerful than you! Tell me I’m wrong Princess!” Twilight looked back and forth at Celestia and Sunset, Celestia’s expression changed to a stern look.

“I did choose you two because I thought you were both special, this is true. But now I see I was wrong...” Celestia replied, Twilight could tell what her mother was about to say and stepped towards her and tried to speak, Celestia held up her hoof and with a fierce look silenced Twilight.

“I thought you’re eagerness and determination was driven by a desire for knowledge Sunset Shimmer, but I see it was only a desire for more power. I’m sorry Sunset, but you are no longer my student.” Sunset gasped in shock,

“I will not exile you from Canterlot, but know that you will no longer be allowed in the castle or have access to its study or library from now on.” Celestia finished, she turned and looked to the two guards she had brought. The guards approached and stood behind Sunset,

“Escort her from the castle at once.” Celestia ordered, Sunset walked past Twilight and Celestia a look of rage on her face as she grumbled,

“You’ll regret this...I promise.” Sunset and the guards left, Twilight walked to the door but then stopped and turned around,

“Mom! You can’t do this, you know what being your student means to Sunset?” she said, Celestia sat with her back to Twilight.

“I’m sorry Twilight…my decision is final...” she answered. Celestia sat silent afterwards, Twilight looked at Celestia then back towards the door. She let out a frustrated groan and turned and rushed after Sunset, Celestia sat alone in the room she looked up at the mirror in front of her to see her reflection, a single tear running down her cheek.

Twilight rushed through the castle trying to catch up to Sunset, she managed to pass the two guards from before in the courtyard. She reached the front gates and looked around the streets, after a moment she spotted Sunset walking away from the castle. She rushed up to her calling out as she did, Sunset stopped and looked back at Twilight. Twilight could almost feel the anger radiating off of Sunset as she stood in the street.

“Sunset please, let’s go back to the castle. If you talk to the Princess and apologize I’m sure we can still fix this.” Twilight begged, Sunset’s face exploded with anger.

“APOLOGIZE?! Are you kidding me Twi?!” she shouted as she turned to face her,

“After everything that just happened you’re still going to take her side in this?” Twilight stepped back a little afraid, she’d seen Sunset angry before but not like this.

“You heard what she said, she’s been keeping secrets from us! She knew about the mirror, she probably knows more about that book you found! But you still think I’m in the wrong here?” Sunset continued to shout. Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke up,

“Sunset, she’s only trying to keep us safe. I know there has to be a good reason behind all of this, she wouldn’t lie without a good reason I know it.” Sunset groaned in anger,

“I cannot believe you! Of course it all makes sense why you’d be loyal to her, your part of the glorious House of Sun, you have to obey Mommy dearest am I right? Well some of us don’t have that Twilight! I have nothing! I’ve been an orphan as long as I can remember, I’ve had to earn everything I had! And now I don’t even have the one thing that mattered the most to me!” Twilight tried to speak, she wanted to calm her friend down but Sunset refused to let her talk.

“Just stay away from me Twilight! If you aren’t going to help me! THEN LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” and then Sunset turned and stormed off leaving Twilight standing by herself in the streets.

A hour later Twilight sat in the castle study, Spike and Cadence were there to talk to her.

“So, that’s what happened?” Cadence asked, Twilight nodded.

“Man, I didn’t think Sunset would do something like this. I didn’t expect it at least.” Spike said, Twilight looked at the two and asked.

“What should I do? I want to talk to her but, she’s so mad at me right now. What can I say to fix this?” Twilight buried her face between her front legs as she leaned against the desk in front of her. An uneasy silence fell over the room, Cadence walked around the desk and put her hoof on Twilight’s back and gave a warm smile.

“Let’s give Sunset a day to cool off, then I’ll go with you tomorrow and we can talk to her together. Even if we can’t make her Auntie’s student again, at least we can save your friendship right?” she said, Twilight looked up and smiled at Cadence.

“Thanks Cadence. I really appreciate it.” Twilight replied. Cadence hugged Twilight,

“Were family remember? Were always going to be here for each other.” Cadence said.

“Well, I’ve got stuff to do. What’re you gonna do Twilight?” Spike asked, Twilight smiled and looked around the room.

“I think I’m just gonna stay here for a bit and read. Maybe reorganize the study again. That usually helps me feel better.” she answered.

“Well, if you need to talk some more you know where to find us.” Cadence said as she and Spike left the room. Twilight smiled and turned to look over the book shelves,

“Now where to start?” she thought.

Twilight slowly awoke lifting her head to find a piece of paper stuck to it by a bit of drool, she pulled the paper free and looked around the room. She could see the moon was out through the windows behind her, she realized she must have fallen asleep going through everything in the study. Twilight left the study and walked through the halls towards her room, she paused for a moment though and listened to her surroundings.

“Why is it so quiet?” she thought, suspicious Twilight began to look around the nearby halls wondering why there were no guards patrolling. She walked around a corner and found a night guard slumped across the floor, she gasped in shock at the sight. She moved closer and sighed relieved to see he was only asleep and not dead. But why was he asleep? She thought, Twilight looked around and slowly she began to find other guards in a similar situation. As Twilight began to search for answers she finally came across a unicorn guard still awake, though very groggy. She rushed to him and sat him upright,

“What happened? What’s going on?” she asked. The guard looked at Twilight and answered,

“Lady Twilight...it...it was...that yellow...pony...she...” the guard slumped over and fell asleep,

“Yellow pony? Sunset!” Twilight declared. It didn’t take much for Twilight to figure out what she was up to and she raced through the castle to the mirror room.

Twilight kicked the doors open with her hooves,

“Sunset!” she shouted. Sure enough there she was standing on the far side of the room, her saddle bag on the floor behind her. She looked back at Twilight surprised to see her, but then turned her attention back to her mirror.

“Sunset, what are you doing?” Twilight asked as she entered the room cautiously. Sunset’s horn glow with magic as she cast a spell, and then the surface of the mirror changed to a watery form.

“I’m leaving Twilight, I’m going to become an Alicorn, then I’ll come back and prove I’m better than her once and for all.” she said. Twilight came to a stop and said,

“Sunset no! You don’t know what’s on the other side of that mirror! You may never come back at all!” Sunset turned and gathered up her things,

“It can’t be any worse then this.” she grunted as she put her saddle bags on her back turned to leave. Twilight rushed forward and stopped midway into the room,

“NO!” she shouted as she grabbed Sunset’s bag with her magic. Sunset stopped and turned, grabbing the other side with her magic as well.

“Twilight stop it! I mean it! You’re not going to stop me!” she snapped,

“Don’t you understand how dangerous this is?” Twilight shouted back. The two pulled at the bag back and forth, Sunset was losing her temper.

“Twilight, stop it! Right now!” Sunset fired a small magic blast from her horn which raced through the air and struck Twilight knocking her down. Twilight lie on the floor clenching her chest and cringing from the pain, she looked up to see Sunset standing over her. Her face had a look of concern on it, but then she looked away grabbing her bag and putting it on her back again. Sunset began to walk away when suddenly she felt Twilight grab her leg, she looked down at the purple pony and groaned.

“Not this again, will you let go!? I don’t want to hurt you again Twilight!” Twilight only tightened her grip though, continuing to tell Sunset she wasn’t letting her leave.

“Don’t you get it Twilight?! No one cares if I leave! I can disappear and no one it Equestria will ever realize I left! So let me go!” Sunset shouted, Twilight screamed in response,

“I WOULD!” Sunset froze and looked down at Twilight still hugging her leg.

“I would Sunset...your my best friend…and I’d miss you so much.” she said tears forming in her eyes. Sunset looked away and scoffed,

“No! You’re just saying that, you’re just trying to keep me here for the same reason as Princess Celestia. Why else would you go through all this trouble?” Twilight looked up at Sunset,

“Because you were there for me when I needed you...Sunset, I was foalnapped by griffons right after Celestia adopted me, and it scared me so bad. I shut myself off from the rest of the world, I refused to go outside, I locked myself up in the castle. But it was you who got me to be brave again, you were the one who got me to go outside again. You were there for me when I needed a friend the most, and that’s what I’m trying to do now. Be here for you when you need me the most.” Twilight slowly loosened her grip on Sunset’s leg,

“But, I know I’m not as strong as you are...so I know I can’t stop you.” Twilight stood upright behind Sunset, her tears rolling down her face.

“So...if you really think this is what you want, that this will make you happy...I won’t stop you...because, I’m your friend.” Sunset and Twilight both stayed silent, the few seconds that passed almost seemed like an hour.

“Twilight...” Sunset finally spoke up, Twilight looked up at Sunset who still had her back to her.

“I thought I wanted this...I was so sure this was what I needed to do...” Sunset said before turning to face Twilight, tears in her eyes too.

“...But...I don’t know now, what should I do Twi? Tell me, what should I do?” she sobbed. Twilight smiled and hugged her friend as tight as she could, Sunset hugging her back.

“You should stay here...with your best friend.”

Author's Note

At so that wraps up Sunset's arc, but don't worry she's still going to be a regular in the story. After this I can finally start on the Nightmare Moon arc, which I have been looking forward to alot by the way. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Apologize

Cadence walked out of her bedroom while making some last minute fixes to her mane and crown, she turned and noticed Twilight’s door was open.

“Is Twilight still asleep?” She thought, usually Twilight was the first pony up in the mornings besides Celestia. Cadence walked over and gently knocked on the door,

“Twilight? Are you up? I was wondering if you wanted to go and try to talk to Sunset now?” she called out, Cadence slowly opened the door and looked inside the room. She could see Twilight sleeping in her bed, Sunset lying on a makeshift bed made of pillows and blankets on the floor her saddle bag against the wall.

“Why is Sunset here? Did she and Twilight make up?” Cadence wondered. Sunset let out a small yawn and stretched her legs rolling onto her stomach, she looked up and saw Cadence standing in the doorway and slowly her eyes widened, her face turning pale.

“...Twi? I need some help right now...Twilight?! Wake up!” she muttered, Twilight rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head and groaned.

“Five more minutes...” Cadence and Sunset stood silent looking at one another before Sunset’s horn began to glow and she forcibly pulled Twilight, her blankets, and her pillow off her bed.

“TWILIGHT!” she shouted, Twilight kicked and squirmed in a panic and shouted back,

“Alright Alright! I’m awake!!! Put me down already!!!” Sunset dropped Twilight without a second thought onto her bed, her blankets and pillows covering her up. Twilight pulled her blankets off and turned to Sunset and asked,

“What’s so important that you needed to wake me up like that?” She looked up and saw Cadence standing in the doorway as well,

“Oh...yeah, that is a big deal.” Twilight responded. Twilight sprang out of her bed and stood between Cadence and Sunset,

“Okay, Cadence, I know what Mom said about Sunset being banned from the castle and all but I can explain all of this.” Twilight said, Cadence stood and listened as Twilight and Sunset explained the events of the previous night and the mirror. Twilight expected Cadence to react badly, instead Cadence smiled and hugged Twilight.

“You did it Twilight! You saved your friendship!” she announced with a smile, Sunset walked up nervously to Cadence,

“There’s one more thing we could use your help with though...”

Celestia was setting the dining room table for breakfast as usual, when Twilight spoke up from behind.

“Um...Mom? Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked, Celestia continued to set the table without turning to face Twilight.

“Of course Twilight, you know I’m always happy to listen to any one of you.” she said with a smile.

“Ok, but...try to keep an open mind alright?” Twilight added nervously. Celestia chuckled and turned asking,

“Why would you think I’d need to...” Celestia paused when she saw Cadence and Twilight sitting in front of her with nervous smiles on both their faces, Sunset trying her best to hide behind Twilight. Celestia’s smile quickly faded,

“Why are you here Sunset Shimmer? I specifically remember banning you from the castle yesterday.” she said angrily. Cadence stepped forward and reminded Celestia,

“Auntie, remember? Open mind.” Celestia looked back at Twilight still smiling, she took a deep calming breath and sat down.

“Very well, I will listen to what you have to say. But don’t expect to change my mind so easily.” she warned. Twilight looked back at Sunset,

“Go on, Cadence and I are right here with you.” Sunset slowly and nervously walked up to Celestia, she was having trouble looking her in the eye. She could tell she was still furious about what she did,

“Well?” Celestia asked. Sunset sat down her head still hung in shame,

“I’m...I’m sorry Princess...” she said, Celestia’s expression turned to one of surprise at Sunset’s words.

“I said some horrible things yesterday, I abused the privileges you gave me, and was selfish, inconsiderate and probably a lot of other words I can’t really think of right this minute.” Sunset continued. A stern look came across Celestia’s face,

“You’ll understand if I’m a bit skeptical Sunset, I’m wondering where this sudden change of heart came from? And overnight at that?” Celestia asked, Sunset finally looked up at the princess and explained.

“It...it took a really good friend to remind me of what I still had. So, I’m trying to make up for what I’ve done.” Celestia looked at Twilight still smiling as she looked at Sunset for a moment then back at her.

“I see, well Sunset. I suppose you can be allowed to enter the castle again to visit your friend at least.” Sunset looked up at Celestia and walked over and hugged her.

“Thank you so much for giving me a chance, and I’m so sorry about yesterday. I don’t know how many times I’ll have to apologize for that, but I’ll do it as many times as I have to.” Sunset said. Celestia leaned forward hugging Sunset back and replied,

“You only needed to say it once.” Cadence danced in place happily, excited to see Sunset and Celestia make amends she turned and hugged Twilight lifting her off the ground as she did.

“Um...did we miss something?” they all turned to see Shining and Spike standing in the doorway confused.

A while later breakfast was over and Twilight and Celestia and Twilight sat by themselves in the dining room, Twilight began to clear the table as Celestia drank the last of her morning tea.

“So...I have a question, about that mirror.” Twilight asked. She turned to see Celestia giving her an annoyed glare,

“No, no, no, its not about the mirror itself! I promise!” Twilight explained. Celestia relaxed and took another sip of her tea,

“Very well, what is it you wanted to know Twilight?” she asked. Twilight walked over and sat down next to her.

“Well, when Sunset looked in the mirror she said she saw herself as an Alicorn. But, when I did I saw all of you. My family I mean.” Twilight said giving Celestia a warm smile,

“It did? Well Twilight it seems as though your family is meant to have an important role in your future then.” Celestia replied drinking her tea again.

“I think so too, but...its just there was a pony there I didn’t recognize, another alicorn, she had black regalia like yours, and...” Celestia gasped at Twilight’s words and dropped her cup shattering it on the ground.

“Oh my gosh, are you ok?” Twilight asked, Celestia took a step back.

“Oh, how clumsy of me…I'm sorry Twilight.” Celestia stuttered,

“Its ok, I’ll go get something to clean this up right away.” Twilight reassured her while running out of the room. Celestia walked over and leaned against the table a cold sweat building across her face,

“Why? Why in the world would the mirror show Twilight her?!” she thought, the summer solstice was less than a week away she thought. She’d made as many preparations as she could think of, but what if she was wrong now? What if she was meant to win? Twilight came back in with a trash can and a rag,

“I’m sorry, you didn’t hurt yourself did you?” Twilight asked as she started to clean up the broken cup and spilled tea.

“No, no of course not Twilight.” Celestia replied, Twilight looked up at Celestia and could see the worry on her face.

“Umm, if you don’t want to talk about it right now. I can just do some research or something. I understand if this something upsetting.” Twilight said.

“I’m sorry Twilight, I really think it might be better that way.” Celestia replied, Twilight finished cleaning the mess and left.

“All right, but I’ll be sure to bring you anything I come across. And I’ll ask before going into the restricted section, I don’t think I need anything from there. But, I just want you to know is all.” Twilight said, Celestia didn’t answer though, she stood silently looking out the window at the sky. Twilight left the room worried that she’d just upset her mother somehow.

Twilight sat at Cinnamon Chai’s cafe with her friends, she and Sunset explained what had happened the last few days as well as Celestia’s reaction to her vision from the mirror.

“Wow, I didn’t think anything could unnerve Princess Celestia.” Wallflower said. Moondancer picked up the red book and looked it over,

“It all started with this book?” she asked. Sunset nodded,

“Twilight thinks there might be another Alicorn out there no pony knows about, and based on how Princess Celestia’s been acting about it...I think, maybe this Alicorn might not be as benevolent as her or Cadence.” Twilight looked a little sad and spoke up,

“Well if she is...then I want to help however I can. My mom shouldn’t have to bear this burden all on her own. I’ll research and find out as much as I can about this. Then maybe, we can stop anything bad from happening before it starts.” Moondancer set down the book and said,

“I’ll help, it sounds like your gonna need it.” Every pony looked at her surprised,

“But what about your party? Isn’t it in a few days?” Juniper asked, Moondancer rolled her eyes.

“My party can wait, this sounds important. Like, fate of all Equestria in the balance important!” she said. Twilight smiled and gathered up her things,

“All right then Moondancer, lets get back to the castle and see what we can dig up.” Moondancer hopped down from her seat and eagerly followed Twilight as the two rushed back to the castle.

Author's Note

Finally the start of the Nightmare Moon arc, gonna try and get updates posted as soon as possible but I started another fic and its a little distracting writing two at the same time. This will still be my main focus though so don't worry about updates stopping anytime soon. Like usual, hope you enjoyed and leave some comments!

The Summer Solstice

The castle doors slowly creaked open a small hint of dust lifted from the floor, Celestia walked into the room the morning sun shining in behind her. She hadn’t been in this room for more than a century she thought. She looked around the room seeing all the weapons and relics from her past battles over the centuries on display. The curtains on the far side of the room were closed giving a dim light in the room, Celestia’s horn began to glow as she pulled the curtains apart to better see into the room. She walked into the room thinking about how the summer solstice was tonight, how she dreaded this day for a thousand years. She paused and looked to her right, the display beside her held a black suit of armor, a crescent moon and stars etched all across. Celestia felt a knot in her stomach at the sight of it, she closed her eyes and turned away.

“This is how it has to be...”she thought, she couldn’t use the elements of harmony anymore and she knew why. They must have chosen new bearers she thought, and there was no time to find them. She had a kingdom to protect, innocent lives, but more importantly than anything else, she had a family to protect. Celestia slowly lifted her head wiping her eyes and looked at the golden armor on display before her. She steeled herself and took a deep breath,

“I will do what must be done...even if it means fighting you again...”

Spike approached the study a clipboard with a checklist in his hands humming a happy tune as he walked. He opened the doors and walked inside,

“Twilight, I’ve got the list of things Cadence wants you to go over for the Summer Sun festival, and...” Spike looked up to see Twilight sitting behind the desk, books, scrolls, and papers thrown all over the desk and room as she was frantically looking through them all.

“Ummm...Twilight?” Spike asked again, Twilight looked up and smiled at Spike, her mane a complete mess.

“Spike! Great timing, we’ve been up all night and finally made a breakthrough in the research!” she announced. Spike walked over to Twilight and asked,

“Dare I ask what about?” Twilight lifted a book in front of him showing a picture of the two alicorns,

“The Mare of the Moon! We found out her name is Nightmare Moon apparently, she once ruled Equestria alongside Mom, that is, Princess Celestia. But she got jealous because every pony was always asleep at night and was never awake to see the stars and moon. So she decided to raise the moon and make everyday eternal night. Mom, that is Princess Celestia fought with her and eventually used the elements of harmony, whatever those are, to banish her to the moon. However, there was a prophecy made that said that she would return one day. So that’s what has Mom so worried! Once we get the last book we need, we can finally figure out when she’s supposed to come back and stop her from ever returning! Isn’t that great!?” Twilight said, a slightly nervous twitch to her eye as she spoke. Spike leaned back from her a little concerned,

“Did...you go to sleep last night?” he asked.

“Well we did fall asleep while researching for a while, but then we woke and got some coffee, went through four whole pots just to stay awake.” Twilight explained as she pointed to a nearby coffee pot and small pile of coffee cups discarded on the floor. Spike looked back at Twilight,

“Yeah...so like I was saying, Cadence still needs your help with the festival today and I’ve got the list of things she needs from you." Spike said as he tried to hand Twilight the checklist,

“Spike! You don’t understand, this is huge!! We’ve been at this all night and need to tell Mom, that is Princess Celestia, about this at once!” she shouted, Spike let out an annoyed groan and brought his face to the palm of his hand.

“Twilight, you’ve already heard Mom say that...wait, ‘We’? What pony in their right mind would help you research this?” he asked. The doors to the study burst open,

“I found IT!!” Moondancer announced as she stood in the doorway holding a book in the air triumphantly. Spike groaned and slumped over almost in defeat,

“I should’ve known...” Moondancer raced over beside Twilight and set the book down and began to explain as Twilight read the book.

“I read some of the book on the way over here, according to the astrological drifts and changing of stars over the last thousand years and in accordance with the Summer solstice happening tonight, Nightmare Moon’s return should come to pass...” Twilight gasped in shock,

“Tonight! This is big! I’ve gotta warn Mom right away!” Twilight said. Moondancer pointed and explained,

“Spike’s right here, lets get him to send her a message!”

“No...” Spike muttered an annoyed look on his face,

“No this is too important, I’ve got to take this to her right away!” Twilight said as she gathered up her notes and a few of the books,

“No...” Spike repeated himself. Twilight crammed everything she had as best she could into her saddle bag,

“Ok, I’ll stay here and start researching ways that we might be able to stop Nightmare Moon’s return, maybe we can get lucky and find something!” Moondancer said as she grabbed a stack of books and started to read.

“For the love of...NO!!!” Spike shouted, Twilight and Moondancer looked at Spike surprised.

“Twilight! You promised you’d help Cadence today! The Summer Sun festival preparations, remember?” he shouted.

“Spike, this is way more important. All of Equestria could be in danger if we ignore this!” Twilight explained as she walked past him. Spike groaned leaning back to look at the ceiling,

“It’s a foal’s story...you’ve been told this by everypony!” he said. Spike looked up to see Twilight was gone,

“Twilight!” he shouted as he left the room chasing after her as fast as his legs could carry him.

Twilight rushed through the castle making her way to the throne room, Spike close behind calling out to her as she ran. Twilight reached the doors to the throne and burst into the room announcing her presence with a booming,

“I finally have proof!!” She looked ahead expecting to see Celestia, instead she saw Cadence sitting on the throne, Kibitz standing beside her, and small group of delegates looking back at her confused. Twilight’s smile slowly faded as she sat down embarrassed by her grand entrance, Spike finally caught up trying to catch his breath.

“I...was...trying to...tell you...she’s not in here!” he wheezed. Cadence quickly got the delegates attention,

“Well, if there’s nothing else left to discuss I hope to see you all tonight at the festival then.” Cadence said with a smile. The delegates gathered up their papers and left the throne room, Twilight smiling nervously as they walked passed her. The doors shut and it was just Cadence, Twilight, and Spike in the throne room now. Twilight walked up to Cadence and apologized,

“Sorry Cadence, I was looking for Mom. Figured she’d be in here.” Cadence looked at the state of Twilight’s mane, she reached up and started to fix it.

“Were you up all night again? Your mane’s a mess, and where’s your hair clip at?” Cadence asked.

“I think I left it back at the study...I think.” Twilight answered, Spike stood annoyed and held up the hair clip in his hand.

“Thanks Spike.” Cadence said as she took the clip and finished fixing Twilight’s mane.

“So what’s this about proof exactly?” Cadence asked,

“Please, don’t encourage her...” Spike muttered. Twilight pulled the book from her saddle bag and showed it to Cadence,

“The Mare of the Moon, I finally found enough proof to show Mom that she’s real. And I think tonight is when she’s going to appear, during the solstice.” Twilight explained. Cadence looked at Twilight’s book and then back at Spike, she didn’t want to discourage Twilight but she felt this was a little far fetched.

“Do you know where she is Cadence?” Twilight asked. Cadence paused and began to think,

“Actually...now that you mention it. I don’t think I’ve seen Auntie all day. She didn’t make breakfast this morning which isn’t like her at all.” Cadence said.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen her either.” Spike added, Twilight groaned in annoyance.

“I need to talk to her.” Twilight said before turning to rush off.

“But Twilight! You said you’d help me with the festival preparations today!” Cadence shouted, Twilight stopped at the door and looked back.

“Oh, um...just get Spike to help out! I’ll make it up to you later!” she said before rushing out the door. Cadence stood dumbstruck,

“Yeah, just drop everything on me...I don’t mind.” Spike grumbled.

Twilight rushed to the castle barracks in a hurry,

“Maybe Shining knows where she is, he gets up almost as early as she does. He has to have seen her, right?” she thought. Twilight made her way into the barracks, it was crowded with soldiers as usual. She made her way through the main hall soldiers stopping to greet and salute her as she did. Twilight managed to reach Shining’s office and rushed inside closing the door behind her.

“Shiny! I need to ask you something.” she said, Shining looked up from his desk.

“Twily? Something up? You look...well more stressed than usual.” he said with sarcastic grin. Twilight walked over and rolled her eyes,

“Yeah, yeah, funny Shiny.” She sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk,

“Have you seen Mom? You’re usually up pretty early for morning patrols and I thought maybe you’d know where she is.” she asked, Shining shook his head.

“Haven’t seen her since yesterday. Figured maybe she had work to do.” he replied. Twilight groaned and slumped in the chair slowly.

“So what’s so important anyway?” he asked,

“You’re probably gonna laugh at me but...” Twilight got her notes out again and began to explain to Shining about what she and Moondancer had learned last night. Shining got out of his chair and walked around a smile on his face,

“Oh boy, someone’s going Twily Nanner’s again.” he teased as he rubbed his hoof in her mane. Twilight pushed his hoof aside and groaned,

“I am not...and what if this has something to do with why Mom’s nowhere to be found? What if she knows about all this too?” she asked, Shining sighed and sat down next to Twilight.

“Look sis, we both know that she gets a little weird during the Summer Sun festival. We’ve seen how she’ll get quiet or just stare at the moon all night, maybe she’s just trying to find a way to...” Shining’s smile faded as he suddenly had look of deep thought on his face.

“What?” Twilight asked, Shining thought for a moment and asked

“You didn’t happen to go by the armory on the third floor today did you?” Twilight shook her head.

“It’s just...the door was open this morning, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it open even. Plus Mom’s armor was missing from its display.” he added. Twilight looked at him concerned,

“The one she wore during the war with the Crystal Empire?” she asked. Shining nodded,

“Oh my stars! That’s it! She does know! She got her armor because she’s getting ready for a fight!” Twilight sprang out of her chair and rushed to the door, she was immediately pulled back by Shining’s magic though.

“Hold up Twily, we don’t know if this is all connected yet or at all. So before you go rushing off and creating a small panic, let’s try to find Mom first and get some answers. In the meantime I’ll double the castle guard and city patrols for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, deal?” Shining asked. Twilight was annoyed but she also knew he was right, she shouldn’t just go rushing off when she still didn’t have all the answers.

“Ok, deal. I’ll get with Moondancer and search the castle. You see if Mom’s somewhere in the city.” Twilight said, Shining nodded in agreement and put his helmet on. Twilight walked out of the barracks and rushed back to the castle study.

It was hours later and the sun had finally set, the festival was underway throughout the entire city, the lights could be seen from almost anywhere in the castle. Twilight and Shining walked into the throne room to find Cadence and Spike waiting. Cadence glided over landing in front of them Spike following on foot,

“Any luck?” she asked. Shining shook his head no,

“Wherever she is, its not in Canterlot. We looked everywhere. I just hope she’s okay.” Twilight said.

“So what do we do now?” Spike asked,

“We need to make sure no pony finds out about this for now. If word got out the Princess was missing it could start a panic, or give some creature the idea to attack the castle.” Shining added. They all nodded in agreement,

“For now, let’s just pretend that everything is all right. Well go out and enjoy the festival for now, if any pony asks, Auntie isn’t feeling well and couldn’t make it. Okay?” Cadence asked.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Spike agreed, a hush fell over the four of them they were all worried about where Celestia could be.

“Anyway, let’s get going. We wait too long and it might start to look suspicious that we aren’t there either.” Twilight said, they all started to walk towards the doors. Shining reached to open them when suddenly a loud cackle echoed across the castle halls, they looked around in a panic.

“What? Who was that?” Spike shouted nervously,

“Look!” Cadence said pointing to outside the window. They all turned and saw the alicorn image on the moon glow and suddenly disappear in a flash, the night sky quickly turned to a sinister shade of red, as the cackling began to echo throughout the throne room again. The pillars lining the throne room one by one burst into terrifying green flames, illuminating the room.

“What is happening!?” Spike shouted as he grabbed Twilight's leg in fear. Twilight looked to the throne as the shadows all gathered and slowly took the form of a black Alicorn donned in blue armor, she opened her eyes to reveal a menacing emerald green shade that almost glowed in the darkness around her.

“Is that?” Cadence asked backing towards the door,

“Nightmare Moon...” Twilight answered. Nightmare Moon stood on the throne and slowly smiled,

“Hello Equestria...I’ve missed you…”

Author's Note

Oh man, its always fun to write an ominous entrance or moment. And this was definitely one of my better ones I think. Nightmare Moon is finally here at long last. I'll try and get the next chapter done soon, but my work schedule is a little dicey the next few days so no promises. Anyways you know the drill! Leave some comments.

The Moon is Rising

An eerie silence filled the throne room, Nightmare Moon stood in front of the throne looking down at the young dragon and ponies in front of her.

“She’s real!?” Spike shouted, Twilight turned to look at Spike while pointing and snapped,

“Aha!” Shining and Cadence looked at Twilight annoyed,

“Twilight...” Shining said. Twilight looked at Shining, then Cadence, she cleared her throat and replied,

“Sorry...” Nightmare Moon slowly walked down the walkway to the throne, her gaze constantly looking down on Twilight and the others.

“So, tell me dear children...where is Celestia? She and I have so much to discuss...” she asked. Shining stepped forward a defiant look on his face,

“We’re not telling you anything! This is Princess Celestia’s throne room, not yours!” he shouted. Nightmare Moon chuckled at Shining’s words,

“Clearly you don’t seem to understand who you are talking too, did you not see the signs? Listen to the prophecy?” dark magics began to form and swirl around her horn as she spoke.

“I am Nightmare Moon, and as of today, there shall be only eternal night!! For the moon is rising!!” a burst of magic erupted from her horn launching through the ceiling above her. Shining and the others quickly moved away as pieces of rubble fell from above. Nightmare Moon’s magic reached the sky and quickly spread forming a barrier around the castle blocking anyone from entering. Twilight looked up in awe,

“Now then...” they all looked as Nightmare Moon spoke, “...let’s get back to you telling me where Celestia is hiding, shall we?”

Every pony in Canterlot was in a state of panic, the sky had turned red, the moon had suddenly changed, no pony knew what was happening. Sunset looked around wondering what was happening,

“Sunset?! Why’s the sky red?” Juniper asked, Sunset looked at her friends.

“I...I don’t know, does this have anything to do with what Twi was talking about?” she answered.

“Look!” a pony shouted as he pointed towards the castle, Sunset and the others looked as a green barrier formed around the castle in the distance.

“Twilight!” Sunset shouted as she sprinted to the castle, Juniper and Wallflower following close behind. Sunset reached the castle to see a group of guards and other castle attendants standing outside the barrier, Sunset quickly noticed Moondancer among them.

“Moondancer! What’s going on? Where’d this barrier come from?” she asked, Moondancer turned to explain.

“I don’t know, I just left for a moment to get something to eat at the festival. Next thing I know the sky changed color and this barrier appeared. But, the worse thing is...I think Twilight and her family are still inside the castle!” Sunset gasped, she looked up at the barrier and pushed her way through the guards. She walked up to the barrier and reached for it with her hoof, a small arc of magic zapped her hoof. Sunset shook her hoof in pain, she stepped back and cast a barrier around herself and charged at the barrier. Her magic pressed against the barrier, magic energies going everywhere then suddenly she was pushed back. Sunset fell onto her side, her friends rushed to her side.

“Are you ok?” Wallflower asked, Sunset stood up and nodded.

“Yeah, and I’m just getting started!” she said. Her horn glowed with a red aura as she began to blast the barrier with her magics, she pressed her attack for as long as she could but noticed nothing was working. She stopped to catch her breath and looked up at the barrier again,

“Its too strong, I don’t think I can break through...” she said.

“But what about Twilight?” Moondancer asked, Sunset looked at her friends concerned.

“We…We just have to hope she can handle whatever’s happening in there...” Sunset answered.

Twilight and the others could see the barrier now surrounding the castle from the hole in the ceiling,

“Were trapped in here now aren’t we?” Spike asked. Shining Armor focused his attention back on Nightmare Moon,

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.” he said readying himself for a fight. Cadence stepped beside him and said,

“I’m right here with you Shining.”

“Me too.” Twilight added. Nightmare Moon laughed,

“Oh my little ponies...do you really think you stand a chance against an alicorn such as myself?” she asked.

“Hate to tell you, but you’re not the only Alicorn in here!” Cadence shouted as she fired a magic blast from her horn, a barrier rose for an instant and blocked Cadence’s attack.

“Oh dear, I hope that’s not your best little princess...I’d be disappointed if it was.” Nightmare Moon taunted. Twilight and Shining armor stepped forward and released their attacks together, with a single swing of her wing Nightmare Moon effortlessly deflected the blasts, a boom echoing throughout the room as they collided with the wall.

“Now, now, your going to ruin my throne room at this rate.”she snickered. The ponies stepped forward together this time combining all their attacks into one and launched them at Nightmare Moon, like the crack of thunder the blasts shook the room a cloud of dusk and smoke covering their target.

“Did it work?” Twilight asked, the smoke slowly cleared to reveal Nightmare surrounded by a barrier smiling back.

“My turn...” she replied, a black orb of dark magic appeared above her horn and she stepped forward launching her attack at the three. The attack struck the ground in front of them sending them flying backwards through the air landing just behind Spike.

“Guys!” he shouted, Nightmare Moon laughed again mocking their efforts. Spike’s hands tightened into fists as he turned and stepped towards Nightmare Moon.

“Oh? And what is the infant dragon going to do I wonder?” she said, Spike stood still closing his eyes and taking two slow deep breaths before a third deeper breath which he held for a moment.

“Really? Deep breaths? That’s the...” Nightmare Moon was interrupted as Spike leaned forward unleashing a massive ball of green fire across the room at shocking speed. Nightmare Moon’s face turned to shock as the flames collided engulfing the area in front of Spike in fire, the room shook more than any other attack before, small bits of dust and debris falling from the ceiling.

“Wow...” Spike turned to see Shining, Twilight, and Cadence staring in shock.

“What? I thought you guys knew? Mom’s been teaching me some deep breathing stuff so I can use my fire better.” he explained. Suddenly emerging from the smoke behind him, Nightmare Moon rushed forward green embers trailing off of her. Twilight tried to warn Spike, but was too slow as Nightmare struck Spike with her hoof knocking him away.

“Spike!” Shining shouted, he sprang to his hooves and charged at the alicorn, she easily swat Shining aside with a burst of magic from her horn. Cadence immediately charged and pushed her back with her hooves trying to tackle her, she slowly slid to a stop.

“Well now, you’re not half bad actually. Too bad, you might have made a good apprentice.” Nightmare said to Cadence before biting down on her shoulder, her fangs sinking into her, Cadence screamed in pain as she was lifted into the air and thrown back to the ground. Nightmare Moon quickly dropped back down crushing her beneath her hooves before kicking her towards Spike. A magic blast struck her in the side, she turned to see Twilight charging another attack. Before she could react, Shining dove onto her back wrapping his front legs around her neck and keeping her from countering. Twilight’s next attack struck her in the chest, she flailed angrily, kicking and demanding Shining release her all while taking attacks from Twilight. Cadence recovered and quickly began to cast a spell of her own, blue chains of magic launched up from the ground and began to restrain Nightmare Moon’s legs. She tossed Shining off of her back and turned her attention to Cadence, Twilight saw the spell Cadence cast and quickly did the same, a set of pink chains binding her wings and holding her in place. More and more chains slowly began to tie her in place, eventually keeping her from moving. Shining walked over to Spike to make sure he was okay,

“Ow...that really hurt.” he groaned. Shining helped him to his feet,

“Hey you took that like a champ bro, I’m proud of ya.” he said. Nightmare Moon groaned in anger, the chains still holding her.

“So what now? We can’t do this forever.” Twilight shouted.

“We’ll think of something, we just need to…” Cadence was interrupted as mass of dark magics erupted from the black alcorn and pushed her and Twilight back, instantly she shattered the chains that held her and she attacked Cadence and Shining with her full power.

“NO!” Twilight shouted as she quickly teleported in front of them, Spike rushed to their side.

“Are you guys ok?” he asked, Cadence groaned, as Shining replied,

“I’ve been better…” Twilight turned to face Nightmare Moon as she slowly approached a look of rage in her eyes. Twilight launched another magic attack, Nightmare easily swat it aside with her horn, Twilight tried again, Nightmare simply ignored her attack letting it hit her as she continued to walk. Twilight tried to attack again, but she couldn’t focus only sparks coming from her horn this time. All she could see was those emerald green eyes filled with rage slowly closing towards her, her legs began to shake, her whole body trembling. She wanted to run, she took a single step back, then she felt her knees give and she dropped to the ground. She lay on the ground, Twilight never felt fear like this before, it was like death itself was approaching her. All Twilight could do in response was whimper a single word in fear,

“Momma...” Nightmare Moon finally reached Twilight, she could feel her breath on her face, icy cold like a winter’s night. Nightmare slowly smiled at the little unicorn before her,

“Are you scared?” she asked. Twilight couldn’t answer, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t think of any way to escape. Then, Nightmare Moon blinked and looked back towards the hole in the ceiling, when suddenly a bright light flashed in the sky almost as bright as the sun itself. Then with a thunderous boom, Celestia had finally appeared clad in gold armor a fierce look on her face as she looked across the throne at Nightmare Moon.

“Get away from them...I won’t ask twice...”

Author's Note

This chapter felt alot longer in my head when I was plotting it out, but it still turned out pretty good I think. Managed to squeeze this one in despite how tiring work was, I've got a good idea of how the next chapters will play out. So as long my job doesn't wear me out too bad I should be able to get them up soon. Hope you all enjoyed the newest chapter.

Sun and Moon

One hour ago…

Celestia gently landed in the destroyed remains of the old castle that was once her home, she walked through the halls thinking about what was to come. Celestia had spent the last year preparing for this day, countless magic wards, runes made to weaken dark magics, and a trap barrier to contain her battle with Nightmare Moon when she finally appeared. She paused for a moment and looked at the armor she wore, she didn’t remember it being so tight. She hated the idea that she was going to need it, last time she wore it she fought alongside her sister to defeat the Crystal Empire it was such a glorious victory she thought. She continued throughout the castle looking at the rooms as she walked, she eventually came to an old bedroom one of the doors missing the other barely held on by a hinge. She opened the door and looked inside, the far wall was completely destroyed, the furniture rotted or missing, a stone carving of a crescent moon on the stone floor. This is where she changed, Celestia thought,

“I shouldn’t have walked away when she closed the door that night...I should’ve talked to her.” she whispered. She turned and continued to walk through the castle making her way to the observatory, a small display of planets was still intact, unbeknownst to others though the elements of harmony lay safely hidden within. Celestia looked up and then closed her eyes, focusing her magic on the elements. But like before they didn’t respond, Celestia sighed she knew it wouldn’t be that easy but she had to try at least one more time. Celestia finally entered the throne room, the two chairs stood in pieces at the far side of the room. She paused to look at the two and thought back to how happy she was back when she was still living here, she smiled at the sense nostalgia it gave her. She walked up the steps and sat down in front of the two thrones she looked at her pocket watch and checked the time. Fifteen more minutes until midnight, fifteen more minutes until she has to fight her again she thought. Celestia waited patiently all that was left was to wait, midnight would come and Nightmare Moon would appear, she was certain that she’d come after her first. Out here in this castle, Celestia would have the advantage, out here no pony would get hurt. Time passed and finally midnight had come. Celestia looked to the sky and saw as the sky turned red, then the image on the moon vanishing. She stood up and waited, ready to finally put this day behind her and be at peace. She waited and watched but nothing, almost ten whole minutes had passed.

“Why isn’t she appearing?” She thought. Her eyes widened in shock, what if she didn’t appear here where she was banished? Celestia quickly remembered the small town just outside the Everfree forest,

“Maybe she’s there!” she thought as she leapt into the air and flew across the night sky. She flew with haste,

“If she’s there I can still make this work, I just need to lure her back to the castle ruins. I can still do this.” she thought. Celestia reached the town and hovered just above, she looked around to see all the ponies below celebrating the summer sun festival, nothing amiss.

“She’s not here either? Where is she then? I have to stop her before she hurts some pony.” Celestia thought frantically looking around, she noticed a flicker of light out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Canterlot on the horizon. Celestia’s heart froze as she saw a green barrier covering the castle,

“NO! Not there! Anywhere but there!” she shouted. She flew faster than she ever had before, a boom echoing throughout the sky as she raced to Canterlot. Celestia finally reached the castle breaking to a sudden stop just before hitting the barrier in front of her she looked around, flashes of light could be seen from the throne room windows from where she was.

“No! No, no, no!” she thought a sense of panic growing in her, she unleashed a magic blast against the barrier. The barrier cracked from her attack then slowly repaired itself,

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way.” She announced before racing into the sky, Celestia flew as high she could breaking through the clouds above. She cast a barrier around herself, giving off a light like the sun as she floated in the sky. She turned and charged downwards towards the castle as fast she could, Celestia broke through the clouds and flew faster and faster the castle and the barrier getting closer and closer as she did. With a thunderous crash she tore straight through the barrier and the roof of the castle and landed in the throne room. Celestia looked up to see Nightmare Moon across the room looking back at her, Twilight lying before her frightened, Spike a short distance away with an injured Cadence and Shining. Celestia’s blood came to a boil at the sight of her family in danger she glared at Nightmare Moon and spoke,

“Get away from them...I won’t ask twice...”

Sunset sat outside the castle furiously scribbling away at a page in Moondancer’s notebook, she finally set her quill down and tore the page free.

“There, this should make a hole in the barrier. Not a big one, and probably only long enough for one pony to get through.” she said. Her friends looked nervous,

“Are you sure this will work?” Moondancer asked, Sunset nervously looked back at the spell then her friends.

“No...in fact, I’d be surprised if it did. Dispelling, and alteration was more Twi’s thing than mine. But we’re all out of options here so we gotta try, right?” Sunset replied. Her friends looked at one another nervously, but then all agreed to help. The four unicorns lined up next to each other and began to cast their magic onto Sunset’s spell, the page lit up with their combined magics and slowly began to affect the barrier.

“Is it working?” Juniper shouted, Sunset looked up and saw a hole in the barrier slowly open eventually reaching a size big enough for someone to get through.

“Sunset! GO!” Moondancer shouted, Sunset looked at her friends and then quickly leapt through the hole in the barrier, the hole snapping shut behind her. She slid on her stomach across the grass, she rolled onto her side and rubbed her belly it burned from the friction.

“Sunset get going! Twilight needs your help!” Wallflower shouted from the other side of the barrier. Sunset looked back at her friends, she turned towards the castle and shouted back as she ran through the courtyard.

“I’ll get Twilight out! And the rest of the house of sun, I promise!” Sunset rushed into the castle not knowing what was waiting inside.

Nightmare Moon smiled turning to face Celestia,

“Celestia...I was hoping you’d show up. We have show much to discuss.” she said. Celestia glared back,

“We both know that’s a lie, you’re only here for one reason. And I won’t allow it to happen.” Nightmare Moon laughed,

“Oh really? You think you can actually stop me this time? You haven’t even brought the elements with you!” Celestia took a deep breath and stood tall,

“I will do what I must...to protect what’s important to me.” she answered a single tear forming in her eye. Nightmare Moon grit her teeth in anger at Celestia’s words,

“Let’s finish this!” Celestia shouted as she sprang into the air Nightmare Moon following after her. Twilight and the others watched as the two alicorns launched into the air,

“Come on, we can watch from the balcony!” Shining said as he rushed out of the room, Twilight followed behind, Cadence put Spike on her back as she followed last. The three ponies made it to the balcony and looked to the sky, light and shadow exploding in the air almost like fireworks against the green glow of the barrier covering the castle.

“What do we do? We need to help her right?” Twilight asked looking back and forth at the others.

“I’m the only one who can fly though, should I go up there?” Cadence asked. Twilight looked up at the sky again nervous when she felt a hoof on her back, she turned to see Shining smiling at her.

“Mom’s the strongest pony in Equestria, remember Twilight? She won’t lose, right?” he said, Twilight smiled back, her brother's words giving her the reassurance she needed.

“Yeah, you're right. She’s gonna win alright.” Twilight answered looking back at the sky.

Celestia and Nightmare Moon raced across the night sky, the two charged at each other their barriers crashing against the other.

“What’s wrong Celestia!? You seem slower, when was the last time you even fought a real battle?!” Nightmare shouted, Celestia didn’t answer she only stared back in defiance. The two split away from one another Nightmare Moon launching a blast of magic at her foe, Celestia flew staying ahead of the blast as it tore across the Canterlot countryside. She watched her opponent carefully, Nightmare was furious she thought, this made her attacks powerful but reckless, she could exploit that easily. Celestia quickly turned and flew upwards, evading her attack, she turned to face her opponent and released a burst of small magic blasts at Nightmare Moon. Celestia’s attack came at Nightmare from multiple directions, she tried to destroy as many as she could but there were too many, she was hit form multiple sides bouncing her around in the air. She screamed in rage at Celestia’s attack, she looked up to attack only to see she was gone. Nightmare frantically looked around when suddenly she was struck from behind, Celestia putting all four of her hooves into her back and kicking her away. She immediately unleashed another magic blast striking Nightmare Moon from behind, she spun out of control and crashed onto the roof of one of the castle towers. Nightmare slowly stood up her breathing heavy, her anger was building.

“Is that all Celestia?! You won’t win like that!” she shouted. Celestia was floating in the air silently, staring back with a focused glare. This only made Nightmare Moon angrier, she wanted her say something her silence was maddening. She took flight charging at Celestia, she fired a burst of dark magics at her, Celestia teleported at the last moment dodging the attack and reappearing beside her. Too fast for Nightmare Moon to counter Celestia blasted her again at close range sending her spiraling towards the ground. Nightmare Moon recovered and stopped midair, she screamed in rage as she unleashed a concentrated beam of magic at her opponent, who returned her attack in kind. The beams collided sending a shuddering boom out across the city of Canterlot, Nightmare Moon shouted to Celestia.

“You won’t beat me! You’re too weak! I will have my eternal night!” Celestia didn’t answer though she pressed her attack, slowly her beam began to push back Nightmare’s, who tried to resist but only struggled in vain to stop the attack. Eventually Celestia’s attack reached her opponent and in a massive explosion sent her falling towards the ground,

“Now!” Celestia thought as she charged after her, magics flowed around Celestia making her shine like the sun. This next attack would finish it she thought, it would finally be over. She charged closer watching Nightmare Moon fall, then Celestia’s mind wandered, a single image of a small sleeping blue alicorn in a bed rocked her mind. Celestia gasped her concentration broken her magics fading, Nightmare Moon opened her eyes and looked back at Celestia firing back at her. Celestia stopped and folded her wings around her blocking the attack, she spread her wings and looked down to see Nightmare was gone. She panicked and looked around, suddenly she was tackled from behind. Celestia grit her teeth from the force of the blow. Nightmare lunged forward biting down on the exposed part of Celestia’s wing, She screamed from the pain as Nightmare Moon continued to push her towards the castle. Celestia tried to break away but her grip on her wing was too strong she thought. Nightmare Moon kicked Celestia away her teeth tearing at Celestia's wing, and instantly fired another beam of magic striking Celestia and sending her flying through the air and crashing through the roof of the castle.

“MOM!!!” Twilight shouted, the four stood in shock as Nightmare Moon laughed from the sky. Shining looked at Twilight,

“Come on, I think she landed in the throne room!” he said. The four of them racing back into the castle,

“Please, please, be ok!” Twilight screamed over and over in her head, hoping they’d reach her in time...

Author's Note

Getting closer to the conclusion, really hope you guys are enjoying this by the way. Been alot of fun writing Nightmare Moon, her need for biting is a fun way to show off how unstable she is I think. Plus what's the point of having those fangs if you aren't gonna use them right? Anyhow, hope you all enjoyed the new chapter.

Fury

Twilight and the others raced through the castle halls in a panic,

“She’s okay right? She’s gonna be okay isn’t she?” Spike asked as he tried to keep pace.

“I don’t know, she took a bad hit back there.” Twilight answered,

“But what happened? She was winning, did Nightmare Moon use some kind of magic on her?” Shining asked. Twilight didn’t have an answer, she was only focused on getting to the throne room she needed to help Celestia.

“Twilight!” a voice shouted, Twilight and the others slid to a stop, they looked down the hall and saw Sunset rushing up to them.

“Sunset! You’re here!” Twilight announced hugging her friend,

“Sorry it took so long, it wasn’t easy getting through that barrier.” she explained, Cadence stepped forward and asked.

“Is there anyone else with you? Some of the guards maybe?” Sunset shook her head,

“No, we barely managed to make a hole in the barrier to get just me in here. There wasn’t enough time...but, what’s happening anyway? Was that Princess Celestia outside a minute ago? Who is she fighting?” Spike stepped forward and announced,

“It’s Nightmare Moon! She’s real!!” Sunset looked at Spike for a moment then rolled her eyes,

“Well duh, haven’t any of you been listening to Twilight this past week?” she replied. Spike smacked his forehead in frustration, he wondered if he was the only one who didn’t believe Twilight at this point.

“Come on, we gotta go! Nightmare Moon isn’t going to wait for us!” Shining said they all began to run when Twilight shouted,

“WAIT!” They all turned to look back at Twilight,

“We can’t just go running in there again, last time we tried fighting her head on it didn’t work. We need to be smarter about it this time.” she explained. Sunset walked up to Twilight and asked,

“Okay Twi, what’re you thinking?” Twilight smiled and looked at the rest of her family with a confident grin,

“So here’s my plan...”

Celestia pushed the piece of rubble off of her and slowly stood up, she threw her helmet to the ground. Blood rolled down her face and got into her eye for a moment, she felt a sharp pain in her wing and looked to see blood dripping slowly from the tips of her feathers. She was grounded now, this put her at a disadvantage she thought. She looked at the ground and cursed her carelessness,

“Stupid, Stupid, Stupid Celestia! Losing focus like that...” she said. She tried to focus but all she could think about was that memory, the small blue alicorn sleeping peacefully in her bed. Tears began to form in her eyes, she tried to wipe them away but they kept coming.

“Stop it, Stop thinking about that, that’s not her...that’s not her anymore...she’s gone and you know that!” she wept. The sound of glass shattering quickly caught Celestia’s attention she turned to see Nightmare Moon crashing through the window above the throne. Too fast for Celestia to counter Nightmare tackled her and dragged across the throne room floor, she leapt back and immediately blasted Celestia again her screams drowned out by the sound of the blast. Nightmare stopped and watched as the dust settled to reveal Celestia lying on her side, her body shaking from the pain. She smiled and landed slowly approaching the white alicorn, Celestia looked up to see Nightmare walking towards her she tried to get up but was quickly held down by Nightmare Moon’s hooves.

“At last...I would’ve waited an eternity for this...its over Celestia.” she hissed into her ear. Celestia looked to see the dark magics forming around Nightmare Moon’s horn, she inched closer with a sinister smile, she wanted to guarantee she finished her off. Then, she stumbled as a blue blast of magic struck her from behind. Nightmare turned to see Cadence by the entrance,

“Ha! Catch me if you can you old crow!” she taunted. Cadence blasted one of the windows open and flew outside to the gardens, Nightmare’s screamed in rage and quickly gave chase.

“Cadence don’t! Come back!” Celestia shouted, she tried to stand only to fall over. Celestia cursed her weakness, she couldn’t even stand right now she thought. In a pink flash of magic Twilight appeared in front of her,

“Aha! I knew she’d fall for it!” she said, Twilight turned to look at Celestia and gasped at the sight of her.

“Oh no, look what she did to you!” She walked over and began to cast a spell, Celestia interrupted her grabbing her leg with her hoof.

“Twilight, listen to me! The four of you can’t beat her! You have to get out of here!” she begged. Twilight rolled her eyes,

“Well yeah, that’s why we need you. We’ll win this together, were family remember?” she replied. Celestia had no response all she could do was smile, Twilight cast her spell on her mother. Celestia felt the pain of her injuries slowly fading, she looked up at Twilight.

“I don’t remember teaching you healing magics...” she said, Twilight smiled nervously.

“Sunset and I...we got bored waiting between lesson plans sometimes. So we’d do some extra credit here and there.” Celestia lie on the floor for a moment before speaking to Twilight,

“I’m sorry Twilight...I knew about all of this. The solstice, Nightmare Moon, all of it. I thought if I kept it a secret, kept it from all of you I could deal with this on my own and never get any of you involved. But now, I should’ve asked for your help from the start. Maybe then this wouldn’t have happened.” Twilight didn’t say a word she knew Celestia did this out of love for her family. Instead she simply hugged her mother.

Cadence landed in the garden and looked back, Nightmare Moon followed her as expected.

“Insolent child!” she shouted as she fired a magic blast at Cadence who ducked barely dodging the attack. The blast struck the statue behind her breaking it to pieces, Cadence looked back and gasped. She pointed to the statue and glared back shouting,

“That was a statue of Snowdrop!!! The pony who invented snowflakes! You monster!” Nightmare looked at the statue pausing for a moment, but then screamed and launched another attack, Cadence rolled out of the way as the blast destroyed the remainder of the statue. Cadence groaned in anger,

“I really hate you right now!!” then she quickly rushed into the hedge maze. Nightmare followed Cadence into the maze but couldn’t see her anywhere. She slowly crept through the maze looking around she knew this was a trap. Then she was struck from behind, she turned to see Shining standing there a confident grin on his face before he turned and ran around a corner of the maze. She rushed around to the corner to see he’d vanished, then she was struck from behind falling forward. She growled in anger and stood to her hooves turning to see Cadence running around a corner at the far end of the maze laughing as she did.

“You think I’m just going to stay here and play your little game!? Did you forget who I am!?” she shouted before leaping into the air. She began to fly above the hedge maze when suddenly something grabbed her hind legs stopping her mid-flight. She looked to see a pair of red chains around her legs, and a yellow Unicorn standing in the maze below a smile on her face.

“You fell for it...” she said, a green light illuminated the sky as Nightmare turned to see a massive ball of fire collide with her. The explosion rocked the gardens as Nightmare crashed against the ground,

“Wow...” Nightmare looked up to see the yellow unicorn again.

“I cannot believe Twilight mistook you for a threat.” she taunted, Nightmare Moon stood in a rage but Sunset quickly ran away disappearing from her sight. Pieces of her helmet chipped and fell to the ground, a trail of blood ran down her face, she’d taken that tiny dragon’s fireball full force she thought. She reached up and threw her helmet to the ground, she stood breathing heavy, she was sick of these games. She was supposed to destroy Celestia, then have her eternal night, every pony was going to worship her like she deserved, instead these children were making a mockery of her.

“No more...” she snarled, green flames erupting from all around her.

Celestia stood up slowly, Twilight helping,

“Phew…studying healing magic is one thing, casting it is exhausting though.” Twilght said, Celestia moved her wings and checked her legs, she wasn’t back to one hundred percent like she wanted but Twilight had healed her enough to fight at least.

“You did a wonderful job Twilight, maybe when this is over I’ll teach you and Sunset some of the more advanced healing magics from the restricted section.” Twilight’s face lit up with excitement,

“Really?!” she squealed. A massive explosion rocked the throne room, Celestia shielded Twilight with her wings as dust and debris flew past them. Then Cadence, Spike, Shining, and Sunset were thrown into the room sliding across the floor to a slow stop. Twilight tried to rush to them but Celestia grabbed her,

“Wait Twilight.” The smoke parted with a gust of wind to reveal Nightmare Moon, the castle gardens behind her engulfed in flames, her face full of rage, her armor cracked, blood dripping down her face. She slowly walked past the injured ponies and dragon towards Celestia,

“I...am...done...” she growled, Celestia stepped forward.

“This doesn’t have to end in fighting, we can still make this right without a battle.” she said, Nightmare grinned and said.

“I agree...no more fighting...” the shadows swirled around her hooves and suddenly Twilight rose up out of the shadows in front of her floating helplessly. Celestia gasped and looked behind her to confirm Twilight was gone, she looked back when she heard the sounds of Twilight screaming in pain. Dark magic poured out from her horn like lightning shocking Twilight,

“Stop it!” Celestia shouted, Nightmare simply chuckled,

“Then stay right there...” She fired a magic blast across the room striking Celestia’s shoulder causing her to stumble but stay standing, she looked back at Nightmare angrily, Nightmare laughed in response and began to relentlessly fire blasts of magic at Celestia hitting her again and again until finally she fell over.

“Stop! Stop hurting her!” Twilight begged, dark magics shocked Twilight again in response,

“Hush pet...you’re only here to watch.” Nightmare taunted as she shocked Twilight again.

“STOP THAT NOW!!!” Celestia screamed, every creature in the room looked up at Celestia as she struggled to stand. Tears could be seen dripping from her face,

“Please...please...stop hurting my family...” she begged. A silence gripped Nightmare for a moment, she looked at Twilight then to Celestia her rage instantly returning.

“Family? FAMILY!?” she shouted, she threw Twilight behind her and marched towards Celestia angrily,

“You!?! Care about family!? You don’t fool me for one minute Celestia!” she shouted blasting Celestia again knocking her down.

“You care nothing for family! All you’ve ever loved was your throne! Your coveted seat of power! The adoration every pony ever gave you!!” she continued to scream blasting Celestia again and again.

“If you really cared about family, then where was your love for me!?! Where?! Tell me, oh dearest sister of mine!!!” Cadence gasped in shock at Nightmare’s words,

“Wait, they're sisters?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t see the resemblance.” Spike quipped. Shining looked at Twilight and asked,

“Twilight did you know about that?” Twilight shook her head and looked back at her brother,

“No, I never found anything like that in my research...it just said they ruled Equestria together...” Twilight answered, she looked over to see Cadence still looking in shock.

“Cadence? What’s wrong?” Cadence didn’t answer instead she lunged forward stopping just in front of Twilight, blue magics flowed around her horn turning into a small heart just above her horn as Cadence cast her spell. Nightmare Moon was too distracted screaming at Celestia to notice as the magic glided across the room and struck her. She gasped and stood upright, a sudden look of awe on her face. Celestia looked at Cadence who stood nervously, then she looked back at Nightmare Moon still frozen in shock. Celestia cautiously stood up, she looked at her face and was shocked to see her eyes change to that of a normal pony. She slowly reached for her face gently putting her hoof on her cheek and making her look at her. A small flicker of hope was in Celestia as she looked at Nightmare and whispered, “Luna?...”

Author's Note

Got this one done in a hurry (long story short did it before work), this was definitely one of the chapters I have been looking forward to writing that's for sure. Decided to throw in one reference to an OC, mostly because it was a good way to get a quick joke from Cadence in. And props to anyone who can spot the G1 Megatron quote I threw in this chapter. Hope you enjoyed, next chapter should be the exciting conclusion of the Nightmare Moon arc.

Sisters

Nightmare Moon stood motionless looking back at Celestia, showing a calm like she never had before. She slowly raised her hoof putting it against Celestia’s and whispered back,

“...Tia?...” Celestia gasped her heart was racing. Did Cadence’s spell work? Did she have her sister back? She thought. Nightmare’s face slowly started to tense up,

“What’s wrong?” Celestia asked. Suddenly Nightmare stumbled back screaming almost as if pain and flailing angrily as she did, clawing at her head with her hoof.

“What is it? Sister! Tell me what’s wrong?!” Celestia begged, dark magics came pouring out Nightmare Moon again as she looked up to reveal her eyes had changed back. She screamed at Celestia and blasted her again this time with a more powerful blast knocking a portion of her armor off as she fell. Nightmare stood breathing heavy, her rage returned, she looked over her shoulder at Cadence who stepped back in fear.

“YOU!!! How dare you!!” she shrieked, her eyes turned black as she began to gather power for a massive blast the sheer size almost taking up half the throne room. Cadence quickly formed a barrier, Shining and Sunset rushed beside her adding theirs trying to strengthen it as best they could. Finally Nightmare Moon unleashed her blast, from outside the castle every pony could see as the massive explosion of shadow magics that nearly destroyed the entire throne room. Nightmare stood watching the smoke clearing to reveal Cadence still standing her barrier barely intact, her legs were shaking and she was clearly at her limit. Shining and Sunset both fell to the floor in exhaustion, the barriers shattering shortly after. Nightmare Moon smiled,

“I wonder if you can do that again?” she asked. Cadence gasped, she still has that much power left? She thought, a yellow blast of magic struck Nightmare from behind. Furious she turned to see Celestia walking towards her,

“This is between us...or did you forget that I was still here?” she shouted. Nightmare Moon turned and shouted,

“I will never forget what you’ve done!!!” The two sisters charged at one another barriers rising around them as they crashed into one another, the ground cracking from the sheer power they were unleashing. Cadence sat down letting out an exhausted sigh,

”Cadence!” she turned to see Twilight and Spike walk up to her. Spike helped Sunset up, while Twilight helped Shining.

“Was that your love spell you used before?” Twilight asked, Cadence nodded,

“She said they were sisters, I thought maybe I could get her to remember if she ever loved Auntie...but it didn’t work.” she replied, Sunset spoke up.

“No, didn’t you see? It did work, but it was only for a few seconds though.” Twilight nodded in agreement,

“Sunset’s right, we just need to make it stronger is all.”

“What’re you thinking Twilight?” Shining asked, Twilight looked at every creature around her and answered.

"I’ve got one last idea, and it’s gonna take all of us to make it work.”

Nightmare Moon and Celestia’s barriers crashed against one another, Nightmare screamed in rage at Celestia, there was only fury in her eyes now. The calm from before was gone, Celestia fought back her tears as she begged,

“Please, I don’t want to fight you anymore! I never did! Just stop, please sister!!” Her words only fueled Nightmare Moon’s rage though as she finally broke through Celestia’s barrier tackling her and throwing her to the ground,

“One thousand years Celestia! One thousand years you banished me!” she screamed, Celestia tried to block her attacks but she was relentless, berserk, there was no reasoning with her now.

“All I wanted was to be loved! To be your equal!! Instead you drove me to this!! You shunned me like all the others!!! You turned me into this!! Tell me I’m wrong Sister!! TELL HOW THIS IS MY FAULT!! TELL ME!!” Nightmare finally unleashed a burst of magic and knocked Celestia down, pieces of her armor shattering and flying everywhere as she fell. Nightmare Moon stood, her fury only lessened,

“Go ahead Celestia….say it...” she hissed. Celestia opened her eyes, tears slowly running down her face again.

“You’re right...this is my fault...” Nightmare gasped her eyes widened in shock.

“...It was always my fault...one thousand years...one thousand years of living with that guilt...can you imagine what that did to me? All because I was blinded by the fame, the love, all the pony’s praising me and telling me how wonderful I was. And all the while, I never once looked at you, never saw what it was doing to you. They treated you so badly and all you wanted was for them appreciate what you’d made. When I finally did see what was happening to you, you pushed me away and I don’t blame you. Because I should’ve been there sooner, I should’ve stood up for you, I should’ve held you, told you it was going to be alright, and how much you meant to me all this time. Instead all I did was hurt you even more than you already were...And I’m sorry Luna...” Celestia lifted her head to look back at Nightmare,

“I’m...so sorry...for everything...” Nightmare Moon stood silent, watching her sister for a moment as she cried. This was different from before she thought, Celestia wasn't crying because she was hurting, she was crying for her. Nightmare grit her teeth and stood over Celestia stomping the ground near her cracking the floor with her hooves. Celestia looked away, her eyes shut tight.

“I don’t want your apology Celestia!! I want my eternal night!!” she shrieked. Celestia slowly opened her eyes looking at her Sister, her gaze slowly looking past her then turning to a look of surprise.

“What is she looking at?” she thought, Nightmare looked behind her. Cadence was floating above the other ponies and Spike her eyes glowing a bright white, and a white energy flowing from each one of them into the glowing heart floating above her horn.

“No! I won’t let you humiliate me again!!” Nightmare shouted, she began to turn and attack when she felt Celestia’s legs wrap around her. She fully expected Celestia to attack her, instead she pulled her as close as she could and hugged her tight.

“I love you Luna...” she whispered, her words left Nightmare frozen in place better than any spell she could cast. Cadence finally released her magic the heart flying across the room and colliding with Celestia and Nightmare Moon. The magic poured into every inch of her body burning her, but only for a minute, it quickly changed into a comforting warmth almost like the sun itself. Memories poured into her mind as time seemed to stand still. She saw images all involving Celestia, brushing Cadence’s mane, teaching Spike how to read and write, practicing magic with Sunset, showing Shining how to tie a tie, watching the sunrise with a sleepy Twilight. Then, the last memory by far the strongest one, two small earth pony foals, a snow white one with a pink mane and tail, hugging a smaller blue earth pony with a blue mane and tail. Which the white one simply said with a warm smile,

“I love you Luna...” Cadence and the others stood silently watching, the light made from her spell slowly fading as Nightmare Moon and Celestia stood motionless.

“Did...did it work?” Spike asked nervously,

“Look.” Sunset said pointing as the last of Nightmare Moon’s armor crumbled away vanishing before it could touch the floor, the black hue of her coat and ethereal mane lifting from her body and fading like smoke to reveal a smaller blue alicorn donned in black regalia. Twilight gasped in awe as she instantly recognized her from the mirror. Celestia continued to hug her sister, eyes shut tight afraid to let her go.

“...Tia…” a voice she hadn’t heard in centuries spoke, Celestia opened her eyes and slowly leaned the pony in her front legs back. Instead of Nightmare Moon she only saw her little sister, tears flowing from her eyes uncontrollably.

“I...I’m...I’m so...sorry...Tia...” she sobbed. Celestia had no words, there were so many things she wanted to say instead she wiped her sisters face and joked,

“Luna...you’re finally back.” Luna took a deep breath and lunged forward burying her face in Celestia’s shoulder and cried. Celestia hugged her tight as she cried, she wanted this moment to last forever she thought.

“So...is it over?” Celestia looked up to see Twilight and the others standing in front of them, she smiled and answered.

“Yes Twilight, I think its finally over.” Sunset took a deep breath and sat down relieved, Cadence hugged Shining in her excitement. Twilight sat down next to Celestia smiling back at her, Celestia looked up at her family and said.

“Thank you...all of you, I’ve feared this day for so long. But not once, not once did I ever imagine that it would end like this...I love you all so much.” Spike smiled and walked over hugging Celestia, Twilight leaned over and did the same Shining and Cadence joining last. Twilight looked up to see Sunset watching with a smile,

“Come on Sunset, get in here. There’s plenty for every pony.” she teased. Sunset rolled her eyes and groaned,

“Oh stars...” she stood up and walked over hugging the others. Celestia wrapped her wings around them all trying to hug them as best as she could. Luna finally looked up to see all the others hugging Celestia and asked,

“So...are you...going to introduce us?”

...Elsewhere… Two hulking figures watched the end of the battle with Nightmare Moon through a small crystal ball, the image fading and changing to resemble an eye.

“So what now?” the first asked, the other turned and began to leave grunting,

“Return to your kingdom, ‘Storm king’...I will call for you when I need you.” The Storm King grew angry,

“That’s it? You call me all the way out here just to watch a few pony’s fight and then you send me back?” he shouted stepping around the table separating the two.

“That is exactly what I did, now leave me as I ordered.” The Storm King grew angrier lightning arcing off of his staff as he prepared to attack, he refused to be disrespected like this, he was the Storm King he thought. He went to raise his staff when dark yellow glow of magic ripped it from his hand, another wrapping around his throat and throwing him into the ceiling and then slamming him into the floor with booming thud.

“You actually want to challenge me? Did you forget who put this staff in your hands all those years ago? Who gave you the knowledge you needed to defeat Queen Novo?” the figure said as he stomped towards him. The magics around the Storm king’s neck slowly began to tighten, he gasped for air clawing at this neck in vain.

“Even with all that I gave you, you still failed to bring me what I asked for...Queen Novo still escaped and took the pearl of transformation with her into hiding...by my graces are you even a king.” The Storm King was suddenly thrown back the magic around his neck disappearing, he coughed and tried to catch his breath.

“And yet I still have need of your armies...the only thing you possess that I find useful...” The staff was thrown to the Storm King’s feet, he picked it up and rubbed at his throat, he knew better than to try attacking again.

“Make no mistake...the day will come, I will reclaim my empire...and all creatures in Equestria and beyond will remember the name...Grogar...”

Author's Note

Well that wraps up the Nightmare Moon arc, had alot of fun writing this one too. Think I gave it a satisfying ending, also decided to throw a teaser of things to come while I was at it. (Keep in mind neither of those two will be the next big bad :pinkiehappy: ) I will be taking a short break from writing House of Sun though. Mostly to go back and find any errors in previous chapters and also to get a chapter or two done in my other Fic. But make no mistake I will come back to this, you guys have given me way too much good feedback just to stop now. Hope you enjoyed the update, later. :raritywink:

A New day

Two whole days had passed since the Summer Sun festival, word had spread quickly about the attack on the castle and Nightmare Moon’s involvement as well as the return of Princess Celestia’s sister, Luna. Despite her efforts rumors quickly rose of Luna’s connection to Nightmare Moon and some ponies had become worried about whether Luna had truly returned to normal. The House of Sun did its best to quell the unease of the people, but with no direct contact from Princess Luna herself it was not an easy task and some remained doubtful. Despite this Celestia would do all that she could to make sure that her sister would be accepted and treated as her equal, refusing to let the mistakes of her past repeat themselves.

Twilight stood in the hall outside her bedroom looking at the door to one of the spare rooms. Luna didn’t have a proper bedroom just yet so she had to use one the rooms near Twilight and the others for the moment. She stepped towards the door and raised her hoof to knock, but stepped back when she heard the sound of Cadence emerging from her room. She walked up to Twilight and stood beside her,

“Is she still sleeping?” she asked. Twilight nodded,

“Yeah, Mom said changing back took a lot out of her. Plus there was the fight, I guess its only natural that she’d need a lot of sleep.” Cadence made a grumpy face as she looked at the door,

“I guess you want to talk to her too?” Twilight asked. Cadence nodded,

“Of course I do, she’s Auntie’s sister. I want to get to know her like any pony...plus, think of the stories she has about the two of them growing up! I bet she has a lot of embarrassing stories about Auntie too!” Cadence said with a smile. Twilight rolled her eyes and started to walk to the dining hall for breakfast Cadence following her,

“That’s what you want to know? Really? Embarrassing stories about Mom?” she asked. Cadence playfully nudged Twilight and replied,

“Don’t act like your not curious too Twilight. I bet you’ve got more questions for her than any of us.” Twilight looked away, she wasn’t about to admit Cadence was right. The two of them entered the dining room to find Celestia and Shining already there, Celestia sat drinking her tea while Shining ate his breakfast.

“Good morning.” Celestia greeted them as they entered, they naturally greeted her back as they took their seats. Cadence sat next to Shining and leaned over giving him a quick kiss on the side of his head which made him smile back. A few minutes later Spike entered the room and sat down next to Twilight to eat,

“So is Aunt Luna ok? I haven’t seen her leave her room at all.” Twilight asked, Celestia smiled back and answered.

“She’s fine Twilight, she was up last night before I raised the sun. I promise once she’s better we’ll all sit down and talk together. But you have to understand she lost a lot of her magic when she changed back. It’ll take time before she’s back to full strength, her mane hasn’t even returned to normal yet.” Cadence paused from eating and looked over,

“She has an ethereal mane like yours? Wait, am I going to have an ethereal mane one day?” Cadence asked as she looked at her mane. Celestia giggled at Cadence’s excitement,

“One day Cadence, but for now be proud of what you have. There’s no shame in having a mane as beautiful as yours or Twilight’s.” They all ate breakfast for a moment before Twilight spoke up,

“So what’s every pony up to today?” she asked. Shining spoke first,

“I gotta get back to the barracks, two days for recovery got me falling behind. Plus, we got a few new recruits in today and I need to put them through the wringer.” Spike ate a mouthful of pancakes and said with a smile,

“I was gonna go down to the game store today, the new Ogres and Oubliettes figures came out today! I need to get them before next game night.” Shining leaned forward in his seat and asked,

“4.5 edition?” Spike nodded giving a confident grin and pointing back at Shining.

“You know it.” Cadence giggled and asked,

“Can I come along Spike? I don’t really have anything else to do today, and it’s been a while since I just got to walk around the city.” Spike nodded, he’d always liked having company when he was out.

“And what about you Twilight? Are you doing anything?” Celestia asked, Twilight thought for a moment.

“I was thinking about going to Moondancer’s and seeing about helping her reschedule her party. We kinda had to cancel it before because of things...” she said. Celestia smiled and stood up from her chair,

“Well, I hope you all have fun then. I’ll be here at the castle in case any of you should need me.” she replied.

A few minutes later Twilight was walking through the castle after helping clean the dining room. She had her saddle bag on her back and was looking over one of her books thinking about the last few days. She paused and looked out the window to her side, she could see the destroyed throne room from where she was and the workers repairing the damage. Below the gardens were in no better condition, statues destroyed and most of the hedge maze had been burned to ash. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for the damage, it was her plan that got Nightmare Moon outside so she could help Celestia. She went to walk again when she paused and looked outside again, there strolling through the garden was Luna. She was by herself with none of her regalia, the gardeners and workers were keeping their distance from her as expected. Twilight smiled with excitement at the sight of Luna though,

“She’s awake! I gotta talk to her before Cadence does!” Twilight shouted as she rushed to the gardens excitedly. Twilight finally made it outside and looked around the gardens, she walked around and eventually found Luna on the far side of the garden sitting in front of one of the destroyed statues. Twilight eagerly walked up to her, once she got closer though she noticed the sad look on Luna’s face as she looked at the remains of the statue. Twilight was a little hesitant to talk to her now, she wondered if being Nightmare Moon was still bothering her. She turned to leave when she heard Luna speak,

“Oh...um Twilight? Right?” She turned to see Luna looking back at her. She smiled and walked up to Luna,

“Yes, it’s Twilight, Twilight Sparkle.” she replied. Luna looked at her with a smile and straightened her posture,

“We are pleased to meet you, and we would like to apologize for our behavior before. Being Nightmare Moon was...inexcusable.” she said. Twilight sat down next to her,

“It’s okay, you really don’t need to apologize. But I was wondering though...Is it ok if maybe we could talk for a while?”

Cadence and Spike walked through the city together, Spike was talking the entire time about the figures and 4.5 edition of Ogres and Oubliettes while showing Cadence the magazine in his hands.

“You and Shining have been playing that game for years now, is it really that fun?” she asked. Spike rolled his eyes,

“Of course it is, you should give it a try some day. I’m sure Shiny wouldn’t mind you joining in one game night once in a while.” he replied. Cadence smiled and looked away,

“I think I’ll pass, besides game night is your and Shining’s thing. I don’t want to be a third wheel if I can help it.” Spike shrugged his shoulders,

“Your loss, you honestly don’t know what...” suddenly a small white unicorn crashed into Spike the box she was carrying spilling everywhere. Cadence stood surprised for a moment before Spike and the Unicorn both stood up, she gasped quickly and started to pick the box and its contents.

“I’m sorry, I was in a hurry to get back to my sisters shop and I wasn’t looking. It was an accident honest!” she said. Spike stood up and started to help, he looked at her mane and tail, it was a cute shade of pink with a single purple highlight and curly all over.

“Its ok, I wasn’t really paying attention either.” he said as he placed some of the things back in the box. She looked up and smiled at Spike,

“Thanks, I really appreciate the…” her gaze turned to Cadence and she sat down gasping in shock.

“You’re Princess Cadence! Oh my stars! You’re actually her!!!” she said, hooves pressed against her cheeks. Cadence smiled back,

“That’s right, and what’s your name?” she asked. The small unicorn smiled back with a newfound excitement,

“I’m Sweetie Belle! I came to Canterlot to help my sister! She just moved here this morning.” she said as she stood up. Cadence’s horn glowed its usual blue as she picked up the rest of Sweetie’s things and placed them back in their box. She looked over the contents and asked,

“Is your sister a tailor? I’m noticing a lot of fabric and thread.” Sweetie nodded excitedly,

“Yeah, she is! She makes the best clothes in Equestria! She’s taught me a few things, but I’m not as good as her though.” Sweetie couldn’t take her eyes off Cadence, Spike looked at the two and spoke up again.

“Well, I’m Spike. Nice to meet you Sweetie!” She looked at Spike and gasped again,

“You are Spike!!! I’m meeting two ponies from the House of Sun my first day in Canterlot!” she shouted. Spike looked at Cadence with a sly smile,

“Well, do you want some help getting back?” he asked as he lifted her box. Sweetie began to panic a little,

“No, no, that’s okay! I can do it, honest!” she said.

“Well, I am gentledrake. So I plan on carrying this for you.” Sweetie smiled and hopped in place happily,

“So which way to your sisters shop Sweetie?” Cadence asked. Sweetie pointed in the direction and eagerly led them to the shop, after a few minutes of walking they finally made it to their destination. Cadence looked up to read the shop sign,

“Canterlot Carousel, that’s a cute name.” she looked to see a closed sign hanging on the door.

“Do you know when she’s going to open up shop?” Cadence asked. Sweetie thought for a moment and replied,

“In a few days I think, Rarity hasn’t really told me.” Spike set the box down and smiled,

“Well here you go, glad we could help out.” Sweetie smiled again.

“Thank you so much Spike!” she walked over and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. She picked up the box and went into the shop saying goodbye as she did. Spike stood rubbing his cheek, a love struck look on his face.

“You’re welcome, Sweetie...Boy...I sure hope I get to see her again.” he said. Spike turned and looked at Cadence who stood smiling back at Spike.

“What?” he asked, Cadence didn’t answer she just kept smiling.

“What?!” Spike repeated, this time Cadence leaned a little closer but still smiling.

“Cadence!” Spiked shouted, immediately in response she began to dance in place.

“SPIKE!!! You’ve got a crush on her! Oh, wait until Twilight hears about this!” she gasped covering her mouth,

“Wait until I tell Auntie! It’s going to be so great!” Cadence turned and ran, Spike panicked and chased after her shouting.

“CADENCE!! NO!! Don’t tell Twilight or MOM! Cadence!!!”

Twilight sat next to Luna quietly, she wanted to talk to her but wasn’t sure what to ask. It didn’t help she had a million questions on her mind. She noticed Luna looking at the statue still,

“Is there something about the statue that’s bothering you?” Twilight asked. Luna looked at her and then back and asked,

“Didst thou know who this was a statute of?” Twilight nodded,

“I did, it was Snowdrop. A blind pegasus who created Equestria’s first snowflake over a thousand years ago. Can you believe she was still just a filly when she did it though?” Luna giggled,

“She was such a sweet child, truly one of the few who understood us. To think I wouldst destroy her monument so carelessly.” Luna said her smile fading, Twilight felt a little bad for bringing it up now.

“Did you know her?” she asked, Luna nodded.

“I’m sorry, we can talk about something else if you want to.” she said. Luna stood up,

“Twilight, wouldst thou mind if we walked. We wouldst like to see the rest of the castle gardens.” she asked Twilight smiled and walked with her.

“Umm, Twilight? When did my sister marry? Was her husband not in Canterlot when...I returned?” Luna asked, Twilight’s face blushed a little.

“Oh right...you’ve been sleeping the last few days. No, we’re adopted. Cadence too.” Twilight replied,

“Oh my apologies Twilight, we had assumed Celestia had found a husband in our absence. How did she come to adopt thee?” Luna asked.

“Well, my parents died in a train accident when I was foal. She and my parents knew each other pretty well since I was enrolled in her school back then. So, since we didn’t have any close relatives to take us in she decided to adopt the three of us. It’s been a little rough here and there, but I honestly can say I’m happy how things have turned out.” Twilight answered she looked to see Luna smiling, Twilight was glad to see her like this.

“Tis just like Tia...she’s always thinking of others first. She hath always given so much and never once does she ask for anything back. We are happy to see she hasn’t changed in the time we’ve been away.” Luna looked back to see Twilight trying not to laugh,

“Twilight? Is something the matter?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, it’s just I’ve never heard any pony speak in old ponish before. I’m really trying not to laugh.” Luna looked surprised,

“Tis not the way ponies speaketh now?” she asked. Twilight finally laughed,

“I’m sorry, I really mean it. But don’t worry, I know a pony or two who can help you readjust.” Twilight replied,

“We would be grateful for such aid Twilight.” Luna replied, the two suddenly came to a stop. Luna looked annoyed as she stared at the statue before them, Twilight looked up to see.

“Of all the things that we hath destroyed, Tis almost fitting this one would survive.” Luna said. Twilight frowned and answered with one word.

“Discord...”

Author's Note

Sorry this one took so long, was working on my other fics (which didn't get as much attention as I liked) and work constantly wearing me out its been hard to write. But I'm finally back in shape, decided it was time for a few slow chapters to show Luna's readjustment. :raritywink:
Also threw a little bit of shipping, even though I said I wasn't going to. But oh well, I wanted to get Sweetie and Spike together a little at least. Also I decided to drop a hint in regards to one of the elements of harmony this chapter (expect more in the future!), let's see if you guys can figure out who and what. :pinkiehappy:
I'll try and get some new chapters done in the next day or two. But brainstorming may also take some time, so until then just try enjoy what I've got done so far. Leave me some comments!

Downtime

Luna kept staring at the statue,

“Was he really that bad? I only know a little about him, Mom’s only just recently let me into the restricted section of the castle library.” Twilight asked. Luna began to walk away from the statue, Twilight following close.

“Twas a powerful a foe, Discord commanded magics the likes my sister and I hath never seen. If not for the elements of harmony we may never have bested him.” Luna said. Twilight thought for a moment,

“The elements of harmony? I’ve heard about those before...what are they exactly?” she asked, Luna looked at Twilight a little surprised.

“Tia never spoke of them? Surely, she keeps them somewhere safe in the castle?” Twilight shook her head.

“Hmmm, perhaps she wanted to keep them secret. So that no pony might abuse their power, We have faith Celestia would not just carelessly leave such powerful magics unguarded.” Luna said as she and Twilight entered the castle.

“The elements of harmony are Equestria’s most powerful force, created many centuries ago by StarSwirl the bearded himself. Celestia and I used them to defeat Discord, afterwards we kept them safe in our castle hoping a time to use them again would never come.” Luna stopped for a moment and looked at the ground, her face turning sad.

“Then...We did something horrible, something that forced Celestia to...” Twilight put her hoof on Luna’s shoulder and reassured her,

“It’s okay, you don’t need to say anymore. You’ve told me more than enough already.” Luna smiled back.

“TWILIGHT!” a voice shouted, she turned to see Cadence run up to her and immediately hug her lifting her off the ground.

“Cadence! I hate when you pick me up like this!” she snapped, Cadence set Twilight down and smiled back at her.

“You’re never gonna believe what happened! I was in town with Spike when we...” Cadence trailed off as she took notice of Luna standing behind Twilight, she gasped covering her mouth her smile visible even behind her hooves.

“She’s awake...” she whispered to Twilight,

“Here we go...” Twilight thought as she rolled her eyes at Cadence’s excitement. Luna stepped forward looking as proper as possible,

“Greetings, we are most pleased to meet thee.” she held out her hoof to greet Cadence.

“Strangers shake hooves, family hugs!” Cadence said as she hugged Luna tight, Luna was taken by surprise by her excitement.

“Oh, of course...my apologies. We did not mean to offend.” she replied, Cadence stepped back and looked at Twilight and Luna confused.

“We?” Twilight laughed as Luna blushed a little,

“She’s been gone a thousand years, she just needs some help readjusting. I was hoping you’d help with that Cadence.” Twilight said. Cadence smiled and eagerly agreed, she was looking forward to spending time with her aunt. Before Cadence could say another word though Spike leapt onto her back covering her mouth,

“Don’t you say it! Don’t you say another word Cadence!!!” he shouted as Cadence staggered around trying to get him off of her. Luna gasped in shock her gaze turning angry,

“Foul creature release her this instance! Tis, a member of the royal family you assault!” Luna announced, a dark blue aura enveloping Spike and lifting him into the air.

“No, wait! It’s okay! That’s Spike!” Twilight frantically explained, Luna looked at Twilight then Cadence who nodded in agreement.

“Oh...um, nice to meet you finally. I’m Spike, but you already know that I guess.” he said as he floated upside down in the air. Luna gently set Spike down onto his feet,

“Oh...my apologies, We did not recognize you.” she said. A moment of awkward silence slowly filled the hall before Twilight spoke up.

“So what was it you were trying to tell me before Cadence?” Twilight asked, Cadence went to speak but Spike stepped in front of her pointing at her an angry scowl on his face. She let out an annoyed sigh and leaned down towards Spike,

“Alright, but you owe me. And I want all the details if something happens, deal?” she whispered. Spike rolled his eyes and whispered back,

“Fine, deal.” he shook her hoof in agreement and then waved goodbye walking off with a smile. Cadence cleared her throat and looked at Luna and Twilight,

“So, what was it you wanted my help with Twilight?” she asked.

Celestia sat in the meeting room, the royal guard generals and her advisors sat around the table in the center of the room. A large map of Equestria was printed across the table,

“So there’s been no word from Queen Novo still?” she asked. One of her generals stepped forward handing Celestia a small folder,

“No you’re highness, and the Storm King’s occupation of Mt. Aris continues. If left unchecked I’m afraid his forces may grow bold enough to move on Klugetown. If that happens your highness, the Storm would be in the ideal position to make an attack Equestria itself.” he explained. Celestia looked over the papers she had been handed, the Storm King had only risen to power a few years ago but was always content with the island nation he had. What made him so bold she wondered,

“It seems I have little choice now, dispatch a small military force towards the southern borders. And continue to monitor the Storm King’s forces, engaging the enemy is to be an absolute last resort. If possible I would prefer to negotiate a cease fire rather than subject every pony to another war.”The soldiers quickly dispersed as Celestia sat by herself in the room, she looked over the map and thought about who she could turn to for allies. As peaceful as Equestria was she had made little effort to better relationships with the other creatures of Eqeustria other than the Hippogryphs, and they were in hiding now. Was war inevitable? She thought, she’d just gotten her sister back and she’d kept Equestria safe for a thousand years, what could she do now that she hadn’t already?

Spike paced outside of Canterlot Carousel nervously a small bouquet of sunflowers in his hand,

“So, um...Sweetie Belle, I was just passing by and I thought maybe you’d like these flowers I had just lying around?” he said. He shook his head and thought,

“Hey Sweetie, got you some flowers.” he said pointing at the air rehearsing. He face palmed and groaned annoyed, he realized he’d been pacing outside for more then twenty minutes now. He took a deep breath and finally approached the door knocking on it, he stepped back and smiled, standing up straight. The door opened to reveal an older unicorn with a curled purple mane in the doorway, Spike’s smile faded.

“Wow...she’s gorgeous...”he thought, he shook his head angrily.

“NO! Your here for Sweetie Belle!” he thought.

“Is there something I can help you with darling? I’m afraid the boutique is going to be closed for at least another day.” she said. Spike cleared his throat and smiled again,

“I was wondering, if maybe, Sweetie Belle was here?” he asked holding up the flowers in his hand. The unicorn gave him a coy smile and looked behind her,

“Sweetie Belle, I believe there’s a young gentledrake caller here for you.” she said.

“What’re you talking about Rarity?” Sweetie said as the door opened more to reveal her standing next to Rarity. She looked at Spike seeing the flowers in his hand and smiled,

“Spike! Are those for me?” she asked. Rarity walked to the other side of the room and sat down leaning against a table smiling while watching the two. Spike handed her the flowers blushing a little bit,

“I thought it would be nice to see you again is all.” he said. Sweetie hugged the bouquet tight,

“There so pretty, and they smell nice too.” she said.

“So umm, are you doing anything tomorrow? I thought maybe we could go get some ice cream or something.” he asked, Sweetie looked up but then her face turned sad.

“I’d like to, but...I’m only here today with my parents to help Rarity move her stuff. We’re going back to Ponyville tomorrow morning.” she replied, Rarity stood upright her expression getting concerned as she listened to the two talk. Spike also became upset as he heard the news,

“Oh...I see.” he said. The two sat silent before Sweetie spoke up,

“But we can still write to each other, right? Being pen pals is still good, isn’t it?” Spike smiled,

“Well, yeah of course it is! And it’s not like I can’t come see you eventually right?” he replied, Sweetie nodded in agreement. Rarity watched the two talk and began to think to herself,

“I can’t let this end here, its so adorable. Sweetie Belle has a crush on some pony. Worse yet, what if this is the love of her life? Am I just going to sit by and let it end this way? No! I refuse to let that happen.” Rarity stood up and walked into the back of her shop, her parents unloading the last of the boxes containing her things in the backroom. She walked up a smile on her face and asked

“Mom, Dad, I was wondering if I could ask you something. About Sweetie Belle...”

Author's Note

Well that didn't take very long, even if its a short chapter. :twilightsmile:

Not sure how soon it will be until my next update though, because now comes the hard process of brainstorming. While I do have an idea of what I want to do next, I still need to find a way to stretch it out into a decent sized chapter. In the meantime I hope this holds everyone over. :raritywink:

I'll try and get an update out as soon as possible in the meantime enjoy the new update!

Debut

Luna walked through the castle gate into the city Twilight and Cadence following beside her, they’d spent an entire afternoon helping her readjust her way of speaking and she felt it was finally time to let the ponies of Canterlot see her.

“Are you nervous? It’s ok to be a little nervous.” Cadence asked, Luna smiled and said,

“I’ve fought wars and faced down charging enemy lines Cadence, this is far less nerve racking by comparison.” Twilight smiled and asked,

“You’ll have to tell Shining and I about some of those old war stories, I’d love to hear about them.” Luna giggled, happy to see Twilight taking an interest in her. After a few moments they finally reached the town square just outside the castle, they stopped and looked around as some of the ponies began to take notice of Luna. Twilight and Cadence could see they were all nervous a few whispering back and forth to one another, Twilight even heard a few mention “Nightmare Moon” as she looked around. After a moment Luna finally stepped forward wings spread and a confident look on her face,

“There she goes.” Cadence whispered to Twilight.

“Citizens of Canterlot!” Luna shouted in a booming voice across the town square, Twilight and Cadence stared in shock at the volume of Luna’s voice.

“What is she doing?...” Twilight asked,

“You have no reason to be afraid, I am no longer the cruel pony Nightmare Moon. My family has restored me to my true self, Celestia’s younger sister and Princess of the Night! Now rejoice and let us celebrate my return to Equestria properly!” Luna continued to shout. She stood smiling waiting for the ponies around her to cheer, but instead they only stared back most with looks of fear. Luna’s smile slowly faded, she stepped forward asking again in her booming voice,

“What is the matter good ponies? Do you not wish to celebrate?” a moment passed before a few ponies in the crowd shrieked and then all scattered in fear. Luna was left shocked at their reactions,

“No! This isn’t what I wanted, I wanted every pony to be happy!” she pleaded as the last of the crowd left. Luna sat down disheartened as Twilight and Cadence walked up beside her,

“What...what did I do wrong?” she asked, Cadence looked at Twilight nervously and answered.

“Well...you were shouting at them...really loud.” Luna looked at Cadence surprised,

“But, is it not tradition to speak to the masses with a commanding Canterlot voice?” she asked. She looked back and forth at Twilight and Cadence, Twilight shaking her head no slowly.

“I wish you’d have told us you were going to do that, we could’ve helped.” she replied. Luna fell silent a sad look on her face,

“But hey, I can introduce you to a few of my friends! I’m sure they’ll help let every pony know that you’re not a bad anymore alright?” Twilight said, Luna shook her head.

“No...that’s okay Twilight. I think...I’ll just go back to the castle for now...” she answered as she turned and flew away. Twilight tried to stop her but she was already gone, Cadence and Twilight sat alone not sure what to do now.

“Hey Twi!” a voice shouted, Twilight and Cadence turned to see Sunset approaching a smile on her face.

“What’s going on out here? I heard some pony shouting then every pony just went running away like the town was on fire.” she asked. Cadence and Twilight looked at one another nervous,

“Aunt Luna was trying to make her first public appearance, but she kinda screamed at every pony in her ‘Canterlot voice’ and ended up scaring them all away.” Cadence explained.

“Oh...wow, that most have been bad. Some ponies still think she’s Nightmare Moon after all.” Sunset explained. The three fell silent,

“Well, let’s not give up on this just yet! Let’s go something to snack on and see if we can figure out a way to turn this all around.” Cadence said standing up with a smile. Sunset and Twilight looked at at her and nodded in agreement,

“I could go for some coffee right now anyway." Sunset said as the three walked away from the town square.

Luna walked through the castle halls slowly her head hung low, she looked up to see a few of the castle attendants ahead of her. Once they saw her though they quietly moved to the other side of the hall cautiously avoiding her. Luna only felt worse seeing it, she wondered if she’d ever make things right with the ponies of Equestria. Eventually Luna found her way to the hall leading to the throne room, she looked up at the windows as she walked by, the different images of Celestia’s accomplishments over the centuries displayed. Raising the sun for the first time, peace talks with the Hippogryphs, fighting alongside a dragon to defeat a monster, and adopting her family. She stopped to notice the last window which just been made, the House of Sun defeating Nightmare Moon. She sat in front of the window and stared at it her sadness only growing from the sight of the window.

“Oh! Luna, there you are.” Luna turned to see Celestia approaching her with a smile.

“Oh, Sister. I didn’t see you there, I was just...thinking...” she said. Celestia walked up and asked,

“About what?” Luna went silent for a moment, she tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t worry Celestia but she couldn’t think of anything convincing.

“Luna? Is something wrong?” she asked. Luna shook her head and stood up to leave,

“No, no, of course not. I’m sorry for making you worry Tia.” she said as she walked away. Luna was half way down the hall when Celestia appeared in front of her in a flash of yellow magic.

“NO!” she said a stern look on her face, Luna stopped in her tracks leaning back surprised.

“Luna, this is exactly what happened last time we were together. Don’t you remember? You wouldn’t talk to me, and it lead to...I can understand if you don’t want to talk to me, but you have such a larger family now. Just please, talk to some pony. Don’t bottle it all up again.” Celestia said her face turning to a smile. Luna began to tear up as she smiled, she hugged Celestia and said.

“Okay, there is something I need to talk about...”
Celestia sat down in front of her sister and smiled waiting to listen to her,

“It’s just...it’s been hard readjusting, Twilight and Cadence have been helpful. But there’s so many things I still don’t know about, and every pony still treats me like a monster. I know they have every right to, but it just gets so hard...I want them to believe that I’ve changed...but I don’t know what to do.” she said as she started to cry. Celestia leaned forward and hugged her sister, Luna hugged her back.

“Luna, I’m so glad to see you’re still the same kind and thoughtful pony I remember. I know it must be hard right now, but believe me everything will get better. And even if it doesn’t just know that I’m here for you, and not just me this time. You have two nephews and two nieces who are just as eager to help you out or talk to you whenever you need to.” Celestia said, Luna sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“Thank you Tia...I’m so glad your here to talk to me...it, it just feels better this way.” Celestia looked at Luna wiping her face,

“I’ve been looking after you for centuries, you think just because you were gone for a while that I’d stop?” she asked. Luna smiled and replied with a smile,

“I’m sorry, who’s the pony that was always saving your flank mid battle? Plus, I don’t remember you ever beating me in our weekly sparring sessions.” Celestia and Luna both laughed aloud,

“Well, how about we go get some dessert? If I’m not mistaken you haven’t tried ice cream yet have you?” Celestia said as she stood up to leave, Luna looked at her puzzled.

“What’s...Ice cream?”

“So how do we fix this?” Cadence asked, taking a sip from her coffee. The three ponies sitting at a table outside of Cinnamon Chai’s cafe. Twilight thought for a moment,

“We need someway to let ponies see Aunt Luna’s changed. She’s not Nightmare Moon anymore, but every pony is still afraid of her though so it’ll be hard.” she answered.

“Maybe start with a small group of ponies first? But what group would work though?” Sunset added. Twilight ate one of the cookies in the center of the table and thought for a moment,

“It’d have to be ponies with a lot of influence, maybe some of the castle delegates? Or a few of the nobles?” she added. Cadence smiled,

“I know Fleur and Fancypants would be delighted to meet her, they’ve always been nice ponies for as long I’ve known them.” she replied.

“That’s still only two ponies, it’s too small a group Cadence.” Sunset added, Twilight’s face suddenly lit up with a smile.

“What about the Galloping Gala? It’s only a few days away right? All of Equestria’s most influential ponies always show too, if we can get them to see how much Aunt Luna’s changed then every pony will know!” Cadence and Sunset looked at one another with a smile,

“Yeah, that could work! Good thinking Twi!” Sunset said,

“We need to talk to Auntie first though, we have to make sure that she’s okay with this. Plus Aunt Luna needs to know about it as well, it wouldn’t be right to just spring this on her.” Cadence said with a smile, Twilight looked back and forth.

“This can work though right? We can show every pony how much she’s changed?” Sunset and Cadence nodded in agreement,

“Alright, let’s all get together at the castle tomorrow morning and pitch the idea to Princess Celestia. We’ll make this work even if we have to lock all those stuffy nobles in the room with her!” Sunset said with a smile, Cadence laughed at Sunset’s words while Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think locking them in the same room with her will get the same results, but your right. We’ll make this work.” Twilight said with a confident smile.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long to post, would've done a few days ago but my internet died on me. So I had to wait a day for someone to come fix it, then the next day or two I got overwhelmed at work and was left exhausted. :ajsleepy:
But now its finally up and everyone can enjoy it. :pinkiehappy:
On a fun side note, I was wondering what everyone's favorite chapter/moment has been so far? I hear from my friends what they've liked but I want to hear from you guys too. Leave me some comments!

The Galloping Gala

A few days had passed and it was finally time for the gala, it was late in the afternoon as all the guests had begun to gather. The royal guard was on duty both inside and outside of the castle keeping every pony safe. Inside the ballroom Twilight, Spike, and Kibitz stood at the entrance greeting the guests as they came in. Twilight was excited but also made sure not to let on that the highlight of the gala was introducing Luna, who stayed out of sight until the right time. Sunset entered the gala alongside Wallflower and another pony journalist,

“Hey Twi, looks like every pony managed to show up this year.” she said. Twilight eagerly smiled and looked around the ballroom answering,

“Almost every pony is here, Kibitz says there are only a few more guests left to arrive. Once they’re here we can finally get things started.” she said. Wallflower stepped towards Twilight,

“Thanks for inviting me this year Twilight, Princess Celestia usually doesn’t invite the press to this event. I’ll do my best to get some good pictures for the paper. Plus I brought Page Turner like Sunset asked, he’s one of the best journalists the Canterlot Times has.” Wallflower said. Twilight and Sunset looked at one another smiling,

“Trust me Wallflower, this is going to be one of the best Gala events in Equestria for years to come. Now why don’t you help yourself to some of the party’s refreshments.” Twilight said pointing towards the table where the food was at. Wallflower and Page Turner smiled and walked in excitedly, Sunset giggled and followed them shortly after.

“Oh Twilight! So good to see you darling.” a voice called out, Twilight turned to look and saw Rarity and Sweetie entering the together. Rarity was dressed in a pink dress with yellow and purple trimmings, Sweetie was in a simpler pink dress and white dress. Spike immediately walked up to greet Sweetie complementing her on her dress.

“Hi Rarity, I’m glad you and your sister could make it.” Twilight said with a smile,

“Oh we wouldn’t miss this for the world Twilight dear, I do apologize for getting here so late though. Sweetie Belle’s dress took a tad longer than expected to get ready.” Rarity replied.

“Well I hope you have fun meeting all the ponies here Rarity, and I hope Sweetie has fun as well.” Twilight added.

“I promise that Sweetie and I will be on our best behavior darling, after all I hope you’ll invite us again next year. I also must admit I am looking forward to meeting some of Canterlot’s elite, especially Prince Blueblood, I’ve heard so many stories about him.” Rarity looked at Twilight as she finished talking and noticed the slightly annoyed look on her face, she held her hoof up and shook it saying to Rarity.

“Trust me on this one Rarity, you really don’t want to meet him...” Rarity wasn’t quite sure what Twilight meant, but was quickly distracted as Sweetie and Spike rushed off into the party. Rarity chased after Sweetie shouting for her not to run as she did. Twilight looked at Kibitz eagerly,

“How many more guests are left on the list Kibitz?” she asked, he turned and smiled at Twilight showing her the checklist he had.

“I believe Ms. Rarity and her sister are the last of the guests Ma’am.” he said. Twilight danced in place for a moment excited,

“Okay, I’m gonna go get Mom and tell her everything is all set.” she said before walking off. Celestia was at the back of the ballroom talking to some of the guests when Twilight approached her,

“Oh Twilight, is there something I can help you with dear?” she asked,

Twilight answered. “Kibitz says every pony on the guest list is here now, so I think its safe to say we can start tonight’s festivities.” Celestia smiled knowing what Twilight was really talking about, she looked at the nobles she was speaking with and excused herself and headed towards the stage at the back of the room with Twilight.

“Alright Twilight, I’ll get started on the introduction. You go get Cadence and Luna okay?” she whispered, Twilight nodded and walked to the backroom behind the stage. She pushed her way through the curtains and found Cadence making some last second adjustments to Luna’s mane and dress.

The two noticed Twilight approach and Cadence spoke up, “Is it finally time?” Twilight nodded.

“Mom’s giving her introduction on the stage right now.” she replied, she handed Luna a small stack of index cards from her pocket.

“I got everything that you’ll need to say written down, all the stuff you did with Mom, and the things you did for Equestria, with no mention of Nightmare Moon of course.” Twilight explained, Luna looked over the cards for a moment a nervous look on her face.

“Is this what you spent so much time in the library on, and why you asked me so many questions the other day?” she asked. Twilight eagerly nodded,

“Just make sure to read the cards all you’ll do great. No pony could possibly hate you after tonight I promise.” Luna smiled looking at Twilight and Cadence,

Shining walked backstage and whispered to the three of them. “Hey, Mom’s speech is about to wrap up.” Twilight and Cadence looked at Luna, she took a deep breath calming herself.

“Okay Luna, you can do this...just no Canterlot voice, just read the cards.” she thought as she walked out onto the stage.

“...and so it is with my great pleasure to formally introduce you all to my beloved little sister, Princess Luna.” Celestia said as Luna walked onto the stage. She walked over beside Celestia, a few ponies could be heard clapping as she reached the end of the stage.

Celestia gave her sister a hug and whispered to her, “Good luck.” Luna smiled and faced the ponies in the ballroom, she looked down at the cards Twilight had given her and began to read them aloud.

“Mares and Gentlecoats, I am Princess Luna, the Princess of the night...” she slowly stopped reading the cards and looked towards her audience, they watched her intently waiting to hear what she had to say. Luna looked back at Twilight’s cards, she closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She turned to Celestia and handed her the cards,

Twilight watched from backstage and whispered loudly. “What is she doing?! She’s supposed to read the cards!” Twilight went to rush on stage but Cadence and Shining stopped her,

“Twilight, calm down! Let her talk!” Cadence whispered back. Luna looked towards the audience again,

“Please, allow me to start over. Mares and Gentlecolts...I am Princess Luna, daughter of Gaia Elm and Iron Heart, sister to Princess Celestia. And for a time...I was Nightmare Moon...” she said, the audience began to whisper among themselves as Luna paused in her speech.

“I am here tonight to tell you all that the rumors you have heard are in fact true as well. A thousand years ago I let my anger, my jealousy, and pride consume me. I attacked the good ponies of Equestria and was banished by my sister for my actions, and more recently I attacked both my sister and her family during the Summer Sun festival, destroying much of the Canterlot castle as well. But I am not here to ask for forgiveness, nor will I ask any pony to forget what I have done. One must take responsibility for their actions and that is what am I here to do today. To admit I was wrong, I made poor decisions and I hurt those closest to me in ways I will never forget. My only true request here tonight is, that I be given a chance, a chance to prove I’ve changed, to prove I can be better, and most importantly that I can still be a part of my family.” Luna closed her eyes and hung her head slightly, a hush fell over the room for a moment. When suddenly the sound of a single pony clapping broke the silence, then another, Luna looked up and soon saw the entire room was applauding her. Luna was genuinely surprised, she looked at Celestia and saw her smiling back, she looked over her shoulder to see her nieces and nephew watching as well but not a one was clapping which meant the applause she was getting was from the ponies in the room approving of her and her alone.

Luna looked back towards the crowd she wiped her eyes to keep herself from crying and said with a smile. “Thank you...all of you.”

The next hour of the party consisted of Luna meeting the different nobles at the party, as well as getting a brief interview from Page Turner and her picture taken by Wallflower. Eventually Luna found herself talking to Fancypants and Fleur De Liss, Twilight and Cadence alongside her.

“I must say, I did find it quite the surprise when I learned that Princess Celestia had a sister. Up til now I would’ve never believed she had any blood relatives at all.” Fancypants exclaimed,

“Well, my sister had good reason to keep it a secret of course. I assure you she meant no offense to any pony.” Luna replied,

“Oh of course not, Princess Celestia has been one of the most fair and noble pony's in all of Equestria. I’m sure it won’t take you very long to convince every pony that it runs in the family Princess Luna.” Fleur added, Fancypants agreed and the group all chuckled together.

“Well, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you Princess Luna, and I do hope we can meet again soon. But Fleur and I must get back to the party you understand, but please if you’re ever in need of any help do not even think to hesitate to ask for either of us.” Fancypants said,

Luna smiled and replied. “You have my word, I will certainly be sure to ask for your help should I need it.” Fancypants and Fleur both gave a polite bow, which Luna returned before the two walked away. Twilight walked up alongside Luna,

“This is going really well.” she said, Luna nodded in agreement but then Cadence let out an annoyed groan. Twilight and Luna looked back at her puzzled,

“Is something wrong Cadence?” Luna asked,

Cadence pointed ahead and replied. “There will be in a moment...” Twilight and Luna looked at where she was pointing and Twilight immediately noticed Blueblood approaching, she rolled her eyes annoyed knowing he had even come to the party.

“Princess Luna, such a pleasure to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Prince Blueblood, esteemed noble pony and Princess Celestia’s nephew.” he said offering to shake her hoof, Luna shook his hoof but was also a little puzzled.

“You’re related to my sister? I was unaware.” she answered,

Cadence quickly explained the annoyance in her voice obvious, “He’s only related in name, he isn’t actually a blood relative.” Luna looked back at Blueblood who cleared his voice and greeted Cadence,

“Um...hi Blueblood, its bee a while.” Twilight spoke up, trying to be civil. Blueblood looked at Twilight for a moment then continued to talk to Luna bragging about his family and himself, Luna looked back at Twilight not paying attention to Blueblood before interrupting him.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you Blueblood, but why did you not greet Twilight like Cadence? Is she not your kin as well?” she asked, he glanced at Cadence who he could see staring daggers back at him. He knew he’d have to choose his words carefully or incur Cadence’s wrath.

“Ahem, well you see Princess Luna. ‘Twilight’ and her brothers were adopted by Princess Celestia, they actually don’t have a direct connection to the royal family.” he explained, Cadence’s face started to turn red with anger.

“I see...” Luna spoke up, Cadence and Twilight looked at her surprised, Blueblood sighed with relief.

“Oh I’m so glad you understand, some ponies in our family don’t understand what it means to be of the upper class in Equestria and...” Luna quickly interrupted Blueblood again, lifting her chin as to look down on him as she spoke.

“And you believe this gives you the right to talk down to her I take it?” she asked,

Blueblood stood confused, “What?”

Luna continued to speak, a few of the party guests turning their attention to her as she did. “Allow me to explain, ‘Prince Blueblood’. When I ruled Equestria with my sister a thousand years ago, being among the nobility was about more than just one’s bloodline or who they were related to. Being a Noble in Canterlot was an aspiration, a goal for one to achieve, and more importantly an example to set for all pony’s regardless of their class. Plus having such status was a constant challenge, a goal to maintain and continue to strive for. Furthermore the belittling of others was often frowned upon by all Equestrian Nobility. In other words, my niece Twilight is far more a noble than you and you would be fortunate to even have so much as a hoof full of the class that she possesses.” Luna said, Blueblood stood silent as the all the ponies around them began to applaud Luna for her choice of words,

She turned to look at Cadence then Twilight and spoke up. “Cadence, Twilight, come. I believe I’ve spent enough time with my ‘nephew’ for one evening...” Luna walked away her head held high intentionally looking down on Blueblood who slowly shirked in embarrassment. Luna made her way to the balcony just outside the ballroom, Twilight and Cadence walked up beside her.

“Umm...thank you for that.” Twilight said a smile on her face, Luna smiled and hugged Twilight close.

“No need to thank me Twilight, I’ve been putting nobles like him in their place for years. I must admit, it never gets old either.” she said, suddenly Cadence burst out laughing as loud as she could tears forming in her eyes. Twilight and Luna looked at her surprised,

“Oh...Aunt Luna, you just became my new favorite relative.” she said between her laughs. A moment passed and Celestia walked out onto the balcony,

“Come to watch the sunset Luna?” she asked. Luna looked at the evening sky,

“Oh? I hadn’t even realized it was that time of day actually.” she replied, Celestia sat down next to Luna and looked up her horn glowing with magic. Slowly the sun set into the horizon,

“Well, I guess it’s my turn...” Luna said, the others looked at her surprised,

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to overexert yourself Luna.” Celestia asked, Luna smiled and nodded before standing up and closing her eyes her horn glowing a dark blue color. Twilight and Cadence watched as Luna’s face tensed up a small bead of sweat on her face, they looked to see the moon slowly start to rise. As the moon rose Luna’s tail and mane began to glow a bright white, and slowly change shape becoming longer and more ethereal. When the moon finally reached the top of the sky the white glow of Luna’s hair lifted off her scattering like tiny stars to reveal a gorgeous blue flowing mane and tail. Twilight and Cadence stared in awe, Luna sat down taking a deep relaxing breath.

“Wow...” Twilight spoke up, “Is that what you’re supposed to look like?” she asked, Cadence looked at Luna with a smile.

“You’re tail and mane are so beautiful.” Cadence added, Luna blushed a little embarrassed by their comments. The four sat together looking at the stars and moon before they heard a voice from behind,

“Twi, you gotta come see this!” they all turned to see Sunset standing by the doorway. She looked at Cadence confused before following Sunset, the others following.

“See what?” Twilight asked as Sunset brought her back into the ballroom, a gentle song was being played by the musicians as ponies were dancing slowly along the dance floor. Sunset stopped beside Rarity, and quickly pointed towards the dance floor. Twilight and Cadence looked and saw what Sunset was pointing at. There among all the adult ponies dancing they could see Spike dancing with Sweetie Belle. Celestia and Luna smiled, while Cadence gasped with glee,

“Oh, that is so adorable.” Twilight said, Rarity looked over and agreed.

“I know, aren’t they so precious together?” she asked.

Twilight stopped for a moment and thought, “But where did Spike learn to slow dance though?” she asked.

“Hmm...I wonder where?” a voice spoke up from behind, Twilight and Cadence turned to see Shining standing behind them a confident grin on his face.

“You? Really? You expect me to believe that?” Twilight replied,

Shining smiled and responded. “Guess I’ll have to prove it then...” he held out his hoof to Cadence, who smiled and put her hoof on his and walked onto the dance floor with Shining.

“You know, this is probably one of the best ways to end the night.” she whispered,

Shining smiled and answered. “I knew you’d say that.”

Author's Note

Long chapter but a good way to end Luna's readjustment. Not to mention it's always entertaining making Blueblood looks like an a**. Also because I've been getting the occasional message asking me decided to throw in a quick little teaser of things to come.

1.Luna's readjustment (just finished)
2. Discord
3. Nightmare Force
4. Vacation/Changeling
5. Storm King
6. Sombra/ Crystal Empire
7. Tirek
8. Starlight Glimmer
9. and up? Not really sure which order I'll use the remaining villains/arcs after that, I'll probably end up playing it by ear at that point. But at the moment this the general idea I have for the story since I'm getting so many questions about what's next.

Well that's for anyone who's curious, sry if some of the writing was in gibberish btw. I was falling asleep near the end of writing this chapter.

Sunset, Moonrise

Luna walked through the castle halls towards the library, she had been spending the last day reading about Equestria’s history and what she had missed. She was grateful that Twilight had made her a list of books she needed to read, even if the list was a little long. She entered the library and was surprised to see Sunset in the library reading, a small stack of books next to her.

Sunset looked up and took notice, “Oh, Princess Luna. Its nice to see you, were you here to study as well?” she asked.

Luna smiled and approached, “Sunset Shimmer right? I’m not sure we’ve actually properly met yet.” Luna replied.

Sunset giggled and answered “Well, a lot has happened these last couple weeks, it’s a little understandable that we haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to one another.” Luna returned the book she had brought to its shelf and began to look for the next on Twilight’s list as she continued to talk to Sunset.

“Is Twilight studying on her own? Or does my sister have her doing something else today?” Luna asked, a moment passed and she looked back at Sunset when she didn’t answer.

“Oh...I don’t really study with Twi anymore, not since Celestia said I wasn’t her student anymore. I still come to read some of the castle books when I visit her now and then though.” she answered. Luna felt she had touched a sensitive subject and quickly apologized. She walked over and sat down at the table across from Sunset,

“If you don’t mind my asking, I’ll understand if its a sensitive subject. But how is it your no longer Celestia’s student? I’ve never known her to abandon a pupil before.” Luna asked.

Sunset closed the book she had and sat upright, “I...made some bad decisions, I found out about an old magic mirror she keeps in the lower levels of the castle and wanted to know more about it. I thought if I could study it in secret it would make me more powerful, maybe even turn me into an Alicorn like you and Celestia. So I took a book from the restricted section without permission, and when she found out about what I was doing I said some pretty horrible things to her. Thinking back on it now, I just wish I had shown a little more patience like she asked me to...” Sunset explained. Luna was surprised by her story and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity, she became Nightmare Moon because she wouldn’t talk to or listen to her sister.

“Has Celestia offered to teach you again? I’m sure she would if you asked.” Luna said,

Sunset looked away a little saddened. “I know if I asked Celestia would probably want me as a student again, but I can’t help but feel like I don’t deserve it.” she replied.

Luna sat and thought for a moment, but then smiled a new idea coming to mind. “Would you like to become my student then? It’s been a few centuries since I’ve had one. Plus I’m sure there are some things I could teach you that Tia hasn’t.” she asked. Sunset looked up surprised as Luna smiled back,

“Oh no! I couldn’t, I mean, you heard how I was as Celestia’s student.” Sunset stuttered.

Luna stood up with a confident smile, “Well, I understand if you feel that way Sunset Shimmer. But if you change your mind and want to learn a thing or two I’ll be in the training room in the guard barracks.” Luna said before turning to leave.

Luna sat in the training room reading, almost a full hour had passed when she heard the sound hoof steps behind her. She turned with a smile to see Sunset nervously entering the room,

“I’m glad you changed your mind Sunset.” Luna said putting her book next to her things and approaching her,

“It’s just a trial run...if I don’t like it, then I go back to studying on my own, Okay?” Sunset said. Luna nodded in agreement,

“Very well, let’s get started then. How much has Celestia taught you on combat and defensive magics?” Luna asked, Sunset spent the next few minutes explaining what she knew, after a few minutes of talking she realized she almost sounded like Twilight ranting nonstop about magic she knew. Her face blushed red with embarrassment as Luna laughed at her enthusiasm,

“I see Tia has been thorough in teaching you how defend yourself with magic, but there is more to fighting than just magic. A good warrior knows how to fight with their hooves as well as the magic he or she has at their command. As there are times you won’t always be able to use your magic to defend yourself.” Luna explained.

Sunset looked at Luna a little confused, “I have to disagree, with all due respect. How can a pony beat someone who can just cast a shield spell or just zap them from a distance with magic?” she asked. Luna smiled, she was pleased to see how confident Sunset was but also felt this lesson was important to teach her.

“Very well Sunset, let’s have a quick spar then. I won’t use any of my magic, and if you can beat before I pin you down I’ll forgo the hoof to hoof training and focus completely on teaching you the magics you wish to know about.” Luna said as she walked a few steps away. Luna picked up a small timer from her things and set it to ring in a few seconds, she set it down and looked towards Sunset with a smile. Sunset was feeling pretty confident though, she knew Luna would need time to close the gap between them and all she needed to do was cast a shield and give her a harmless zap and she’d win she thought. The two stood watching one another a tense silence flowing through the room when finally the timer rang, Sunset began to raise her shield when Luna rushed to the side and out of Sunset’s sight. Before she could turn to face Luna she felt her hooves get kicked out from underneath her, she then felt the weight of Luna’s hooves on her back and slam her against the padded floor of the training room. Luna held her pinned for a minute before asking,

“Had enough?”Luna teased, Sunset let out a pained yes and Luna released her and helped her back onto her hooves. Sunset sat rubbing her back, Luna sitting in front of her a confident smile on her face. “How did I beat you?” she asked Sunset.

“You were too fast, plus you went for my legs first thing.” Sunset replied, Luna nodded in agreement.

“A simple explanation but accurate nonetheless, to be more specific though. You assumed I would attack you from the front, so you focused your shield spell in that direction rather then all around you. You also chose defense over offense first, and more importantly you underestimated your opponent.” Luna explained. Sunset was surprised at Luna’s analysis, she wasn’t expecting her to be so knowledgeable about this sort of thing. Sunset smiled thinking about how Celestia never tried to teach her or Twilight about this kind of thing, and she couldn’t help but think about how this felt more to her style than Celestia’s teachings were. Sunset stood up and smiled eagerly asking Luna if she could teach her more, Luna was pleased with her response and the two spent the next few hours sparring Sunset learning as much as she could from her new teacher.

The time had finally come for the sun to set, Luna needed to raise the moon and so she said goodbye to Sunset offering to teach her again the next day. The two parted ways at the castle foyer, Sunset walking away with a bright smile on her face.

“Well, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen Sunset smile like that.” Luna turned to see Celestia approaching,

“Hello Tia, are you going to use the balcony when you lower the sun today? I was just heading there myself to raise the moon.” Luna asked, Celestia nodded in agreement and the two began to walk together.

“So I take it you’ve decided to take Sunset under your wing?” Celestia asked,

“I have, I hope that’s okay. I didn’t mean to steal one of your pupils away.” Luna replied.

Celestia shook her head no, “It’s fine, Sunset is a fine unicorn and I think its for the best that she have some pony teaching her. She’s come a long way in just a few months, and I must admit I am eager to see how she’ll grow under the right mentor.” Luna smiled as the two reached the balcony, Celestia looked at the evening sky and lowered the sun.

“I imagine Sunset’s parents must be proud of her to be such good friends with the royal family.” Luna said. Celestia finished lowering the sun and watched Luna raise the moon before speaking.

“Oh Luna, I’m sorry I thought you knew.” Celestia replied, Luna looked at her sister confused. “Sunset...she’s...an orphan. She spent her childhood in the foster home with other orphans. I discovered her during a fund raiser, it was after that I enrolled her at my school and started to teach her alongside Twilight. Last I heard she was living by herself in the city.” Celestia explained.

A look of surprise replaced Luna’s confusion, “You...never considered adopting her? Surely Twilight would’ve liked to have her in the castle. Not to mention she’s an excellent student, quite gifted in magic at that.” Luna said,

Celestia had a saddened look on her face, “I had thought about it, several times, but the truth is...I was always hesitant, Sunset’s eagerness always seemed too ambitious, and I tried multiple times to teach her some humility but it never really took. So I was afraid that she might go down a path that I couldn’t stop her. Forgive me for saying it this way but, I didn’t want to create another Nightmare Moon...” Luna and Celestia sat silent for a moment,

Celestia eventually spoke up. “But I am proud to see how far she’s come, and I have no doubts that she’ll come to do great things for Equestria. Maybe one day even, she might even see that place...like we did when we were young, and like Cadence.” she said as she looked towards the sky. Luna looked at the sky with her sister and smiled,

“Well, its getting late and I know you have work to do Luna. Try not to work too hard though, I don’t need to remind you how dangerous every pony’s dreams can get sometimes.” Celestia said as she walked away. Luna turned to face the city before her, and thought for a moment about Sunset before closing her eyes and entering the dream realm.

Over the next few days Sunset would continue to show up to train and learn from Luna, who was always pleased to teach and Sunset was a fast learner of course. Between sparring sessions they would talk about their lessons as well as sharing stories. All the while though Luna would think about what Celestia had told her, eventually almost a full month had passed since Sunset began studying under Luna. The day began as usual Sunset arrived on time in the afternoon ready to learn, she and Luna spent a few hours sparring all the while Luna explaining to her how to be better. Eventually the two took a break, Sunset took a drink from the water bottle she had brought offering some to Luna afterwards.

“So, who taught you all this Princess Luna?” Sunset asked,

Luna set the bottle down wiping her mouth. “I had many teachers, so did Tia of course. But the first pony to teach me was my father, I wanted to join the militia when I was a teen and he was adamant I knew how to fight.” she said with a smile.

Sunset looked at her with a slight look of doubt, “An Alicorn in a militia?” she joked.

Luna smiled back, “Oh, I guess not every pony knows.” Luna leaned in close whispering to Sunset, “You see, Tia and I were actually just Earth pony’s once.” Luna said, Sunset gasped in shock.

“You’re joking?” Sunset replied, Luna shook her head smiling as she did,

“We grew up in a small farm village, it wasn’t until we were in our late teens that Starswirl managed to unite all the pony tribes in fact. I remember the first time we visited Canterlot, Tia was in such awe at the sight of the castle I had to constantly remind her we weren't there for the sights. She was so embarrassing to be around that day.” Luna said. Sunset couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Celestia acting like a tourist, she’d always known her for being so serious.

“Ummm, Sunset...are you okay with living by yourself?” Luna asked, Sunset looked at her confused.

“I guess so, why are you asking?” she replied. Luna looked away nervously moving her hoof in a circle on the floor,

“Well, it’s just...Tia was telling me how you didn’t have any family and I thought you might get lonely, and was thinking maybe you’d want to stay at the castle. You already visit often enough to know your way around, plus I’m sure Twilight and Cadence would enjoy having you so close by.” she explained. Sunset looked at Luna surprised,

“Is she asking if I want?...” Sunset thought, her heart was racing with an uneasy feeling of excitement and nervousness.

“I’ll understand if you need time to think about this of course, after all it would be a big adjustment. So there’s no need to answer me right away.” Luna finished, Sunset slowly stood up a slight smile on her face.

“Yeah, I need some time to think about this. So can we end the lesson here today?” Sunset replied, Luna nodded and Sunset gathered up her things and left. Luna sat by herself, she wondered if maybe she should’ve waited a little longer to ask Sunset after all.

Sunset wandered through the castle Luna’s words echoing through her mind, she wanted to say yes so bad. But she couldn’t help but think about her own past, what if she was just doing this as an excuse for more power and she just didn’t realize it yet she thought. Her mind was so conflicted, she just wanted a simple answer is all, what did she really want right now?

Sunset suddenly bumped into someone and looked up to see Celestia standing in front of her, “Oh! Princess Celestia, I’m so sorry I didn’t see you.” she said,

Celestia was concerned. “I can tell, I called out to you twice but you just kept walking. Is something the matter Sunset?” she asked,

Sunset nodded. “Its just, Princess Luna asked me something during my lessons today and I don’t know what to say...I want to say yes, but I also don’t know if its what I should say either.” she explained.

Celestia put her hoof on Sunset’s shoulder, “You only have to listen to whats in your heart Sunset, whenever you doubt yourself always remember that.” she said.

“I wish it were that easy, but I don’t know if this is the right choice either. What if I say yes and it just leads to me doing something bad again? What if I just end hurting every pony who cares about me?” Sunset answered trying not to cry.

Celestia smiled and turned “Come with me Sunset, I think I know a way to get you an answer.” Sunset was puzzled by Celestia’s words but followed her through the castle. Celestia lead her to the lower rooms of the castle and Sunset eventually realized where they were as the two stopped before an old locked door.

“Princess Celestia, isn’t this where?...” Sunset asked nervously, Celestia nodded and unlocked the doors, they slowly swung open and there at the far end of the room was the mirror.

“The mirror doesn’t show a pony there future like you believed Sunset, it shows them what their heart desires most. For me it showed me ruling Equestria alongside my sister, for Twilight it showed her family. The question is, do you still desire the same thing you once did?” Celestia asked as she gestured for Sunset to approach the mirror. Sunset swallowed the lump in her throat, she was scared of what the mirror would show her. Slowly she walked across the room, her heart racing with each step. She finally reached the mirror and stood before it eyes shut tight her head hung low, she remembered the last time she saw herself as an Alicorn emblazoned in flames a clear display she wanted power and nothing more. She slowly raised her head eyes still closed, she was about to open her eyes and look but instead she remembered the last time she was in this room. How much Twilight had shown how much she cared for her, it made Sunset start to think about all the ponies who cared about her. Twilight, Cadence, Spike, her friends, Celestia, and Luna. She slowly realized that she didn’t need the mirror to tell her what she wanted, she knew it all along it just took this moment to make her realize it. Sunset turned away never looking at her reflection, she opened her eyes to see Celestia standing at the doorway a smile on her face.

Sunset smiled and said, “Thank you Princess, I...I need to go talk to Princess Luna. Like, right now.” Sunset rushed out of the room in a hurry, she stopped and turned around to give Celestia a warm hug before leaving. Sunset raced throughout the castle eventually finding her way to Luna’s room, she knocked on the door furiously.

After a moment the door opened to Luna standing in the doorway, “Oh Sunset, is something the matter?” she asked. Sunset’s eyes began to tear up, she lunged forward hugging Luna as tight as she could and shouted with excitement,

“Yes!”

Author's Note

Been planning this chapter for a while now, nice to finally get around to it. Was especially fun to write given how many comments I've gotten about Sunset getting adopted. :twilightsmile: It was also a fun idea for Luna to get a student and Sunset felt like a good choice since their both reformed villains (in the show at least). Next chapter will be up once I get a chance to write it, work is gonna be murder the next few days with a holiday approaching and all. I will finally get around to introducing the lord of Chaos into House of Sun at long last. Anyway leave some comments and let me know what you think.

LoRd oF CHaOs aNd DiSCorD

“The Newspapers have been talking about us ever since the Galloping Gala.” Twilight said while reading the morning paper. The rest of her family sat at the dining table eating breakfast with her like usual,

“Oh? And what have they been saying exactly?” Celestia asked before taking a sip from her morning tea. Twilight levitated the paper over to Celestia with a smile,

“Mostly about how well the Gala went and Aunt Luna’s big debut. They’re calling us a bunch new names now, House of the Sun & Moon, House of Eclipse, and the House of Two Sisters. It’s nice to see every pony appreciates Aunt Luna as much as we do now.” Twilight continued,

Spike swallowed the mouthful of pancakes he had and asked, “Doesn’t House of Eclipse sound more like Luna overshadows Mom though?”

Celestia laughed as she read the paper, “I think they’re just trying to find a way to make it sound like Luna and I are equals is all. Which I must admit, I do appreciate it greatly.” Celesta replied. Twilight finished her breakfast and looked at the others at the table,

“Well, Spike and I need to get going. I volunteered to give a guided tour of the castle gardens to a class visiting from out of town.” she said as she hopped out of her chair, Spike followed a few seconds later.

“Where did they say they were from again?” he asked.

“Ponyville I think, I remember the teacher’s name was Cheerilee.” Twilight answered as they walked.

Twilight and Spike walked through the hall heading towards the castle gate, Spike seemed distracted though.

“Is something wrong Spike? You’re not nervous are you?” Twilight asked,

Spike stopped and looked at the windows and asked. “Is it just me or is something different?” Twilight looked at the windows and noticed the images were different, instead of the usual pictures they were instead they all depicted a brown serpent like being making pranks and mischief.

“Wait, these aren’t right...who changed these? And overnight at that?” Twilight asked, Spike began to walk back towards the dining room.

“We’d better go tell Mom, she should probably know about this.” Spike said as he reached for the door, he grabbed the door handle and opened the door only to have a mass of water come pouring into the halls instantly flooding it. Twilight and Spike screamed in a panic as they found themselves swimming to stay above the water, the ceiling only a few feet from their heads.

“What is happening!?” Spike shouted,

“I don’t know!” Twilight answered. Then a group of birds sprang out of the water diving back in like fish, then a group of fish flew past their heads like birds.

“What the hay?” Twilight said as she grabbed Spike, her horn glowed pink and she teleported the two of them to a nearby room. They looked around to see the room was in complete disarray, furniture on the walls and ceiling, small clouds scattered throughout the air. The sound of thunder followed by clouds raining chocolate milk, Spike stayed as close as he could to Twilight.

“Your seeing this too right? Please tell me I’m not going crazy Twilight?” he asked,

“No! I see it too, we need to get out of here!” Twilight shrieked. She put Spike on her back and tried to teleport again, every room she jumped to was only more insane than the last however. Twilight couldn’t figure out what was happening she’d never seen magic like this before she thought. Eventually she exhausted herself and needed to rest,

“Twi, are you okay?” Spike asked,

Twilight nodded. “I’m fine, just need a sec to catch my breath...” she gasped. A low growling sound arose behind the two as they looked to see a swarm of fruit with mouths and tiny limbs rushing towards them. The two screamed in fear and ran as fast as they could,

“Are we actually being chased by killer fruit!?” Spike shouted.

“Don’t think about it Spike! Just run!!!” Twilight answered, in a flash of light Celestia suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Twilight, Spike! Thank the stars you’re alright, I was worried the spell wouldn’t work!” she said,

“Were being attacked!!!” Spike shouted as he and Twilight hid behind Celestia, she looked ahead to the fruit monsters closing in on them.

“Stay close to me!” Celestia shouted as she cast another spell moving them away from the encroaching threat.

Celestia teleported the three of them to what seemed to be the throne room, though now a distorted mess of shapes colors and random objects floating in the air and sticking out of the walls and ceiling. Luna, Cadence, and Shining were already there waiting,

“Tia! Thank goodness you made it back, and you found Twilight and Spike too!” Luna said as they approached.

“What is happening!?” Spike shouted while grabbing the sides of his head in a panic. Luna looked at Celestia concerned,

“Luna and I have seen this kind of magic before, there’s only one creature who could do something like this on so grand a scale.” she explained.

“Oh come on, I went through all this trouble and your just now getting to my introduction?” a voice echoed throughout the room, Luna and Celestia gasped as they looked towards the throne to see spin it around to reveal the culprit. A large serpent like being with mismatched limbs sat on the throne a smile on his face.

“Discord!” Celestia announced,

“Oh, I’m so glad you remember me. After all its easy to forget about a garden statue after a thousand years or so. Right, Celestia?” Discord said appearing behind her. Twilight, Cadence, and Spike panicked quickly hiding behind Luna, and Celestia. Luna stepped forward an angry look on her face,

“We won’t allow you to do as you please Discord! Your going right back to where we left you!” she announced.

“But I have so many new design ideas for Equestria, let’s start with Celestia’s makeover shall we?” Discord said as he suddenly changed to resemble a construction worker holding a blueprint is hands, he quickly folded the blueprint into a paper plane and watched as it flew away making engine noises. Then with a snap of his fingers Celestia’s tail and mane were changed into an over sized afro, a red clown hose comically placed on the end of her muzzle. Celestia gasped in shock quickly knocking the red nose off, Spike covered his mouth trying not to laugh however which Discord took notice of.

“Well at least some creature here has a sense of humor.” he teased.

“Enough! We’ll not stand for this anymore!” Luna shouted as she and Celestia fired blasts of magic at Discord, with a snap of fingers their attacks changed into a harmless cloud of confetti. Celestia and Luna grew angry and continued to try and attack Discord, he comically dodged their attacks or outright rendered them into harmless objects. Eventually Twilight, Cadence, and Shining began to help, but despite their efforts nothing was working on Discord.

“Honestly, I expected my return to be a little more exciting than this.” he complained as he snapped his fingers trapping each pony in a comical way. Spike stood watching nervously, he wanted to help but couldn’t think of how.

“Well now, aren’t you going to join in? Pools open you know and the water's just fine.” Discord asked changing into a pair of swim trunks and jumping into a small kiddie which was deeper than it seemed.

“Then again, maybe you’re enjoying the show as much as I am.” a second full size Discord appeared beside Spike eating popcorn and relaxing on a beach chair.

Spike thought as fast as he could and finally spoke up, “Why are you doing this?” Discord came to a stop and looked at Spike.

“For the chaos of course, I wouldn’t be much of a lord of Chaos and Discord if I wasn’t” he replied,

Spike crossed his arms a looks of doubt on his face. “I don’t think so...” he said. Discord was surprised by his answer,

“Oh really?” Discord said. Spike looked at Discord a confident smile on his face,

“You know what I think, I think you’re just doing this for the attention, because you just want some pony to have fun with.” Spike added,

Discord gasped in shock. “ME? Doing this for attention? Preposterous...and what exactly would I get out of having some pony to have fun with anyway?” he asked.

Spike walked up to Discord and answered, “You’d get a friend, and then you wouldn’t have to worry about fighting Mom or Aunt Luna all the time that way.” Spike said with a smile.

“Oh really?” Discord said with a sly smile, appearing behind Spike, “I can’t help but feel there may be a gentledrake’s bet in the works.”

Spike thought for a moment and then said with a smile, “Yeah, I bet you that I can make you my friend before the day is out. If I win, you have to stop being the bad guy and be my friend from now on.”

Discord stood crossing his mismatched arms, “But, what do I get if I win?” he asked. Spike’s smiled faded as he thought for a moment, he hadn’t thought about that he realized. Discord quickly picked Spike up a smile on his face,

“How about this then? If you win, you get me as your new best friend.” Discord said as he made air quotes with his free hand, “But if I win, I get to turn Canterlot into my own personal playground of Chaos and Discord. That’s a fair exchange don’t you think?” Spike thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with an alternative, he knew they couldn’t beat Discord like they were trying this might be their best bet he thought.

“Okay, but three conditions, first you have to change everything back to normal. Second, you can’t brainwash any pony, I mean assuming you can. Finally, you can’t change everything this much until the bet is over.” Spike demanded, Discord set Spike down on the ground and thought for a moment before smiling.

“All right then, I suppose that’s fair, after all it'd too easy to win if I already had everything the way I like it...Then we have a deal I suppose?” he said holding out his hand, Spike waited a moment before shaking Discord’s hand.

“Oooh, this is going to be so much fun.” Discord announced before snapping his fingers and changing everything back to normal in a flash.

“Is it over?” Twilight groaned, Spike turned to see his family scattered around the room. Celestia and Luna took notice of Discord and leapt towards him before Spike interrupted them.

“WAIT!” he shouted hands in the air,

“Spike, get out of the way. We have to stop Discord now!” Celestia said.

“Yeah, about that...” Spike said nervously.

Discord immediately appeared between Celestia and Luna hugging them with a smile saying, “You see, what little Spike here is trying to say is that we’ve made a bit of bet. If he can convince me to be his new friend I promise to be a good Draconeqous from now on. But if I win, I get to turn all of Canterlot into my own personal Chaos land. Oh, it’s going to be so much fun! Just think of all the things I get to do. First thing is to turn off all the gravity of course...” Celestia and Luna gasped, before looking at Spike and shouting.

“What!?”

Author's Note

At long last Discord has arrived. Wish I could've gotten this up sooner, but the last couple days have been exhausting my job wasn't exactly helping. But I managed to get this done this finally. Decided to go a different route then the show, where as Discord stayed out of sight most of his first appearance here he decides just to get everyone's attention the only way he knows how. Plus Spike wasn't really a big part of those episodes, and I think he could've been a big help if they'd just brought him along. Not sure when the next update will happen, got a long process of brainstorming ahead plus there's my job. But I'll try and get things up as soon as possible. :pinkiehappy:

Fun with a mix of ChAOs

“Spike! How could you do something this reckless? Discord cannot be trusted.” Celestia said to Spike, the rest of his family stood around him, Discord a short distance away watching with a smile.

“Auntie try not be too hard on him, Spike was only trying to help out right?” Cadence asked as she looked at Spike. He nodded in agreement,

“I thought it could work, I mean we turned Aunt Luna back from a bad pony right? Whose to say that we can’t make Discord into a friend?” Spike replied. Celestia stood annoyed that Spike was right,

“Tia, I hate to admit it...but this might actually be the best way. You said it yourself, we can’t use the elements this time and we can’t beat Discord in a head on fight without leveling half of Canterlot in the process.” Luna said as she placed her hoof on her sisters shoulder.

“I say we give Spike a chance, I’ll stay with him just to make sure Discord doesn’t hurt him. In the meantime you and Twilight can try to find a backup plan in case this doesn’t work. Okay Princess?” Shining said as he stood beside Spike.

Celestia let out an annoyed and almost defeated sigh as she finally agreed, “Very well...Luna? Can you take Cadence and make sure the guards know whats happening? I know Discord is still going to use his magic someway to make things more difficult in Canerlot and want every pony to at least be aware of whats happening.” Celestia asked, Luna nodded in agreement and left with Cadence watching Discord as she did.

Twilight walked over and hugged Spike tight and said, “Good luck Spike, I know you can do this.” Spike and Shining approached Discord who was floating in the air waiting with a smile,

“So? I take it every thing is in order now?” he asked, Spike nodded. Discord instantly sprang to his feet with excitement, “Oh this is going to be so much fun, after all once I win the bet I’ll get to have all of Canterlot to make into my own personal land of Chaos.” Discord continued as he eagerly rubbed his hands together,

Spike smiled back confidently though and quickly replied. “Your assuming that I won’t win the bet though and believe me, I have quite a few ideas of how to get you see that being friends with me is better than just being the bad guy.” Spike said.

“Well then, I supposed we should get started then.” Discord replied.

With a snap of his fingers Discord, Spike, and Shining appeared in the center of the town square in Canterlot. “So? What’s first on the agenda my good dragon? I’m sure its something absolutely riveting.” Discord teased,

Spike stood thinking nervously for a moment trying to think of an idea before Shining took notice. “You do have a plan right?” Shining whispered to Spike,

after a moment Spike suddenly spoke up. “Oh! I know! How about we get some donuts? Can’t start a friendship on an empty stomach, am I right?” he said,

Discord only seemed annoyed though. “I supposed so, by all means lead the way.” he said after a bored sigh. A few minutes late the three stood in Joe’s doughnut shop, a plate full of doughnuts sitting in the center of the table.

“See? If we end up friends we can hangout here all the time and you can eat all the doughnuts you want!” Spike said as he and Shining ate a few from the plate.

Discord sat annoyed picking up one of the doughnuts from the plate, “This is isn’t very exciting, where’s the fun in your food just sitting still?” he asked, Spike and Shining looked at each other nervous. “Oh! I know a way to make things more interesting.” Discord said with a smile, he held up his hand and snapped his fingers a flash of his magic engulfing the restaurant interior for a second. Suddenly all the doughnuts in the shop grew tiny arms and legs, the holes turning into little toothless mouths. Immediately the shop turned into a madhouse as every pony began to panic and scream as the doughnuts began to run around the shop making a mess of everything.

“Now this is more like it, now the doughnuts have a fighting chance!” Discord said with a smile. Spike and Shining quickly sprang from their seats and began to race around the shop trying to get everything under control, some of the restaurant patrons standing atop the tables to try and avoid the now rampaging baked goods others fleeing in fear entirely. Shining rushed from place to place crushing doughnuts beneath his hooves as he went, Spike trying his best to pick up the doughnuts and hold them in place. A few began to harmlessly bite and hold onto him and Shining as they ran around. Eventually Spike got angry and begin to just eat the doughnuts biting him one after another. Almost an hour passed and finally all the doughnuts had been either crushed or eaten, Spike lay on his back staring at the ceiling his stomach bulging from overeating, Shining slumped against a table exhausted his hooves covered in icing and sprinkles from the doughnuts.

Discord was floating above the mess sitting in a lawn chair, a pair binoculars in hand and a small plate of normal doughnuts next to him. “Well, I don’t know about the two of you but I had an absolutely wonderful time. We should really do this again some time.” he teased, Shining and Spike both lifted their heads glaring angrily at him. “What? I didn’t break any of the rules, you’re not telling me that your going to throw in the towel already are you?” Discord asked.

Spike groaned and slowly stood to his feet, “No...I...urp, I’ve got a few more ideas left...” he answered.

Discord appeared between the two in a flash picking them both up and hugging them with excitement, “Oh goodie, I can’t wait to see what kind of fun the three of us get to have next.” he said with a smile.

With a snap of his fingers Discord moved the three to their next destination, “So what’s next? I’m sure you have something absolutely thrilling I’m sure.” Discord said sarcastically.

Spike smiled and said with a grin, “That’s why were here at the park! There’s plenty to do here, we could go fishing, fly kites, play catch...” Spike stopped mid sentence though when he heard the sound of Discord snapping his fingers. He and Shining looked at Discord nervously as he stood smiling back at them,

“Um...what did you do just now?” Shining asked, Discord gasped obviously faking being surprised by his question.

“What? Can’t a Draconeqous snap his fingers for no reason without being suspected of something foul? Honestly I don’t think that’s the kind of trust a friends would show one another.” Discord replied. Spike nervously began to walk through the park Discord and Shining following as he finished explaining to Discord all the things there was to do. Shining paused when he felt something wet drop on his head, he rubbed his mane and noticed a small brown droplet. He sniffed it and recognized it smelled like chocolate milk, he wondered where it came from when he noticed another droplet land on his back then slowly turn into a full downpour.

“What? What’s happening now?” Spike shouted as the skies suddenly turned cloudy and began to rain chocolate milk all over the park.

Discord appeared between Spike and Shining holding an umbrella wearing a heavy raincoat and hat with a smile. “Well, would you look at that? Seems as though its cloudy with a chance of Chocolate milk today! Wouldn’t you agree?” he joked as he held up a small glass watching fill it to the brim before handing it to Spike.

Spike took the glass and glared back angrily shouting, “Discord! What about the rules?!” Discord crossed his arms and looked at Spike annoyed,

“As I recall you said I couldn’t change everything as much as I did at the palace, and clearly all I’ve done was replace the rain in these clouds with something more fun is all. No point getting mad at me when I’ve done nothing wrong.” he explained. Spike’s face started to turn red, he knew Discord was doing this on purpose, trying to get him to give up but Spike simply took a deep breath and relaxed.

“Alright fine, I’ve got one idea that can’t fail. Since you decided to make it to where we can’t have any fun outside I know something we can do indoors that’ll be loads of fun.” Spike said confidently,

Discord slithered up beside Spike a smile on his. “Oh really? Well my good dragon, you have my attention. What’s this secret weapon you’ve had in store all this time?”

Spike and Shining entered the castle study smiling, Discord following behind a curious grin on his face. The three approached the table in the center of the room, across the table were different snacks and drinks, a large grid game mat, some dice, and an assortment of figurines.

“Ta-da!” Spike announced as he and Shining took their seats, “This is the greatest game in all of Equestria! Ogres and Oubliettes! Shiny and I have been playing since we were kids, I’m a level 14 dragon wizard, and Shining is a level 16 Unicorn barbarian. So? What do you want to play as Discord? A bard? Thief? Cleric?” Spike asked eagerly,

Discord stood arms crossed clearly not amused. “This was your big surprise?” he shouted annoyed,

“Oh come on Discord, you won’t know if you like it unless you give it a try first.” Shining said gathering the papers for his character.

Discord sat in the chair across from Spike, “Oh fine, let’s see how this goes then.” he muttered before snapping his fingers and making a tiny figurine of himself dressed as an archer appear in his hand.

“Wow, an archer huh? We could really use one to balance out the party.” Spike said as he handed Discord a character sheet, “Now the party enters the old dungeon, the relic needed to stop the vile Squizard’s plans lies within the deepest floor of the dungeon. Time is running out and soon the Squizard’s forces will catch up to you all to try and stop you.” Spike narrated. Discord leaned back in his chair letting out an annoyed groan, Shining and Spike looked at one another a little bothered by Discord’s behavior but Spike was determined to achieve his goal.

“Is there anything you want to do? Check for traps or something?” Spike asked, Discord picked up the rule book and flipped through the pages.

“Here, I want to cast this spell.” Discord said as he pointed to a page in the book,

“You don’t have the magic aptitude to cast spells though, are you sure you want to try?” Spike said smiling as he did. Discord set the book down on the table and crossed his arms annoyed, his stance and the look on his face being an obvious yes. Spike picked a few dice and rolled them onto to the table, he picked up the rule book and looked through before snickering and explaining to Discord.

“You fail to cast the spell, your characters hair turns fluffy and bright pink as a result.” Spike said, he and Shining now laughing from the result. Discord was getting annoyed and finally stood up from his chair.

“Oh for Scorpan’s sake...This is what you call fun?! If you really want to play then let’s do things the right way shall we?” Discord groaned, and with a snap of his fingers Spike and Shining suddenly found themselves standing in what appeared to be a life size cardboard and paper dungeon from their game. The two now dressed as their in game characters as well, Spike and Shining looked at each other nervously. Discord was nowhere to be found but his voice soon echoed throughout the area,

“Well now, let’s see how much fun the two of you have can have when you’re doing all the real adventuring...shall we?”

Author's Note

Sorry this one took so long, I've been busy and/or distracted the last few days. Plus I got some bad writer's block mid chapter which didn't help. :pinkiesad2: But I finally got around to getting it posted. I'll try and get the next update out as soon as I can but no guarantee on an exact date like always. :twilightsmile:

Lastly I want to thanks to all you guys and gals who have been leaving comments and giving me likes. Just know I do enjoy reading the comments regularly and I appreciate the continued support. So as long as I keep getting readers I'll be sure to keep writing more and more. :pinkiehappy:

FriENdshIP CoMeS IN ChAOs

Spike and Shining stood nervous in the cardboard dungeon, they looked around for a way out but there was none to be found. They were all too aware that they were at Discord’s mercy right now.

“So what do we do now?” Spike asked,

Shining looked around and answered. “I have no idea!”

After a moment Discord’s voice began to echo throughout the dungeon again, “Better find the exit soon, the Squizard’s forces are sure to come looking for you would be heroes.” The two turned to see a group of cardboard skeletons cutouts approaching them, this confused them slightly of course.

“Uhh, are they actually supposed to be a threat? Their just cardboard...” Spike said. One came to a stop behind Spike and began to pummel him across the head, each hit getting stronger as it continued.

“Ow, Ow, OW! Cut it out already!” Spike shouted as he pointed his staff at the cutout and to his surprise a beam of magic fired out from the end destroying the skeleton. Shining and Spike looked surprised at what had happened.

“Wait, this actually works?” Spike said looking at the staff in his claws.

Suddenly Shining shouted to Spike, “Look out!” as he leapt over Spike and drew his axe destroying a small group of skeletons that had reached where they were standing. Shining smiled happy to see his weapon was real as well,

“Okay, you gotta admit this is kinda cool.” he said. Before Spike could answer though Discord began to speak up again,

“Oh but that was the easy part, now you’ve got to roll to see if you make it out of the dungeon at all.” Discord cackled. Then a giant twenty sided dice fell from nowhere on the far side of the hall and slowly began to roll towards them. Spike and Shining screamed in a panic as the dice rolled down the hall after them. The dice was slowly beginning to gain on them when Shining noticed a small gap in the wall and grabbed Spike ducking out of the way as the giant dice just missed them.

“Did you see that?! We could’ve died just now!” Spike shouted to Shining,

“Yeah, I know. Let’s just find the way out like he said already. I don’t want to be here any more than you do.” Shining added as he and Spike continued down the hall. The two made their way down the hall dodging traps and fighting cardboard skeletons as they went, eventually making it to a wide open room where they could finally see the exit. They tried to rush out of the dungeon when a cutout of the Squizard appeared barring their path, it spoke with Discord’s voice of course mocking them.

“Oh you didn’t think you’d just up and leave without a boss battle now did you?” Discord asked as the Squizard began to fire magic blasts at them. Spike and Shining panicked and ran separate ways, the Squizard laughed aloud mocking the two as they fled.

“You two want to get out of here? Then you’ll have to get past me! Mwa ha ha ha.” the Squizard shouted. Spike listened to his words and decided enough was enough he wanted out already and leapt out from his hiding spot firing magic blasts from his staff.

“Take that!” he shouted, the Squizard dodged Spike’s attacks however laughing as he did.

“Oh you’ll have to do better than that I’m afraid!” he said before Shining’s ax suddenly slammed into the Squizard cutout cutting him clean in two.

“Nooo!” he groaned as his pieces fell to the floor before disappearing into a cloud of confetti.

“Let’s get out of here already!” Spike shouted as he and Shining rushed and dove through the exit wasting no time.

In a flash of light Shining and Spike fell onto their stomachs finally back inside the castle study. Discord float above the table behind them a smile on his face.

“Now see how much more fun it is once you’ve added a little bit of chaos to the day?” he asked.

Shining stood up and turned to face Discord angrily shouting, “Fun!? You almost got us killed in there twice! How is that fun?”

Discord appeared behind Shining a smile on his face, “Oh please, if I really wanted to kill you I’d have done something far more dangerous and less fun than that.” he asked. Spike stood up and dusted himself off,

“That wasn’t funny Discord we could’ve really gotten hurt back there...” he said. In a flash of his magic Shining, Spike, and Discord found themselves standing around the table again.

“Oh come on, that was just the first dungeon. Imagine what kind of antics we’ll be able to get into next time?” he asked, Spike was slowly getting angry at the thought of Discord putting him and his brother in danger again. What if he dragged Twilight or Cadence in next time? Or Luna and Celestia? He thought. Discord stood beside Spike putting his arm around him and said to Shining,

“Besides, its all just fun and games what’s a little bit of danger between a group of friends? Am I right Spike?” Discord asked, Spike’s temper finally hit its boiling point as he grabbed the table and flipped it over everything atop it scattering across the room.

“WE ARE NOT FRIENDS!!!” Spike shouted at Discord before hopping out of his chair and storming out of the room not looking back as he flung the door open. Shining and Discord watched for a moment silently before Discord spoke up again,

“Well then, if were not friends I guess that means I won the bet!” Discord cheered a snap of his fingers and he was dressed in a yellow safety vest and hard hat. “Oh I have so many new design choices for Canterlot now that its all mine. Obviously the gravity has got to go, and I’m thinking some coy fish in a lava pond will really bring out the gardens. Let’s not forget Celestia’s new mane of course...” he said.

Shining slowly turned to look back at Discord an angry scowl on his face. Discord could see how angry he was but immediately defended his actions as expected.

“Oh what? I never broke any of the rules, I won fair and square. He’s just being a sore loser, don’t try and make me into the bad guy now.” Discord replied.

Shining just shook his head, “The one creature in all of Equestria who actually wanted to be your friend….and that’s how you treat him. Hope your happy now, you won just like you wanted. Now you can enjoy it all on your own.” Shining snapped before walking out of the room to follow Spike. Discord stood silent for a moment, a few seconds after Shining had left he finally spoke up.

“Don’t think you can try to guilt me! I’m perfectly okay with how this turned out. Watch! I’m going to go right back to what I was doing and you won’t have any impact on it at all.” Discord said as he began to snap his fingers changing things in the room as he did, but Discord came to a stop when looked at the turned over table looking around the room he realized that he’d been having fun all day but because he had others to enjoy it with. Discord walked over and sat down in one of the chairs nearby,

“Well played Spike...” he said as he snapped his fingers again changing everything back to normal.

Spike sat on the edge of his bed his face cupped in his hands, he looked up as he heard a knocking at his bedroom door.

“Hey bro, how’re you holding up?” Shining asked as he walked into the room and sat down beside him.

“I just thought he could change...am I wrong to think that was possible?” Spike asked. Shining put his hoof on Spike’s shoulder to comfort him,

“Hey, there’s a reason why Princess Celestia and Luna sealed him up. Besides no pony here is gonna blame you for at least trying when the rest of us just wanted to fight him and be done with it. You should be proud that you even got him behave as well as he did.” Shining said.

Spike sighed, “Yeah, I guess so...” a few seconds passed when another voice spoke up.

“I know right? The lord of Chaos making friends? I can’t say I saw it coming.” Spike and Shining both looked up to see Discord now sitting beside them both, they quickly got angry though thinking he was only there to mock them again.

“What do you want now? You already won the stupid bet!” Spike snapped, Discord stood up and cautioned the two as they got angry.

“Now, Now, I understand that you think I’m just here to kick a pony while their down. But I actually wanted to just say that I’m sor….” Discord strained as he tried to say the last word of his sentence. Spike and Shining looked at one another confused,

“What?” they both asked.

Discord groaned, “I said that I’m ss..s….” he continued to stutter and slur his words over and over. After several attempts Spike finally lost patience and stood up pointing at Discord,

“If you’re just gonna make fun of us then get out of here Discord!” he shouted. Discord let out an annoyed groan leaning back as he did,

“Oh for the love of...” he replied, he snapped his fingers and a small windup toy of himself appeared in his hand. Discord turned the key a few times and then held it out the toy speaking in his voice. “I’M SORRY!” Afterwards the toy disappeared in a flash and Discord stood watching the two in front of him, Spike and Shining looked at one another surprised.

“Wait, for real? This isn’t a trick or something?” Shining asked.

Discord crossed his arms and explained, “I know it seems strange to hear from me of all creatures, but I found that today was only as much fun as it was because I had you two around. To be honest if I got to keep coming back having fun like this over and over, I don’t think it would be so bad. So what do you say Spike? Friends?” Discord held out his hand with a smile, Spike thought for a moment before whispering something to Shining who looked back at Spike and nodded in agreement.

“Okay, but first you have to prove it. Remember what you did with the dungeon before? Think you could do it again? Only less scary this time.” Spike asked with a smile, Discord simply looked at Spike and Shining with a smile and held up his hand and snapped his fingers.

Twilight and Cadence walked down the hall towards the study,

“I know Shining said he’d keep an eye on Spike. But, I’m still kinda worried. It’s been a few hours since we’ve seen anything really Discord worthy.” Twilight said. The two reached the door and Cadence reassured Twilight,

“I’m sure they have everything under control, I mean maybe Spike actually made Discord into a friend.” Cadence replied.

“All the same, let’s just take a quick peek and make sure they’re ok.” Twilight said opening the door, almost immediately an arrow with a suction cup on the end flew across the room sticking to Twilight’s forehead. Twilight stood stunned from the surprise and looked into the study to see it had been changed into a cardboard and paper forest, cardboard cutouts of monsters trying to attack Spike, Shining, and Discord who were all dressed up as medieval adventurers fighting back smiles on all their faces. Twilight and Cadence watched for a moment in awe,

“Well...maybe we’ll just let them finish up first then come back to check.” Twilight said nervously,

Cadence broke into a smile though and said to Twilight with glee. “Are you joking? I don’t know what’s going on, but this looks like so much fun! I want in!” Cadence rushed into the room as she entered the area where the others were playing she immediately changed to have a scepter and white clerics robe. She paused for a moment to look at her clothes than ran up to the others excitedly.

Shining took notice and announced, “Ho fellow adventurers! A noble cleric has come to join our party!” Cadence hopped in place excited when Discord shouted,

“Onward to adventure!!!”

Author's Note

I know I said this update would've been alot sooner but I got distracted by whole mess of things these last few days. The short version being, work, tired, christmas, and a game or two I got for said holiday. I should've posted this a few days ago and Im sorry for the delay. :pinkiesad2: But I still hope everyone enjoys this new chapter, now that Discord's arc is over its time to move on the Nightmare Force arc. :pinkiehappy: But before that, next chapter will have a new Unicorn stroll into Canterlot to make a little trouble. Though if anyone's been attention technically this is the second she's appeared in my story. :trixieshiftright: Can't make any promises when the next update will be posted, as new years is right around the corner and its gonna be busy at my job. But I'll try and get it done when I can. :yay:

The Great and Powerful!!!

Deep within the southern corner of Equestria was the island domain of the Storm King, storm clouds surrounded the little island nation. Steel airships patrolling over the cities and along the borders of the islands, no creature entered or left this domain without the Storm King’s knowledge. Deep within his fortress securely nestled in the middle of his kingdom he sat within his throne room. Guards lined the halls always on alert, his subordinate Grubber stood before him with a checklist explaining how his men were still unable to find the pirates who had stolen from him a few days prior. Then a boom almost as loud as thunder echoed throughout the throne room a large portal opening in the center as a large blue ram emerged from it an angry scowl on his face. The guards quickly surrounded him weapons poised to attack, he looked around and then spoke to the Storm King.

“Get them away from me...you know what will happen otherwise.” Grogar said.

A second passed and the Storm King stood up from his throne and shouted to every creature within, “Get out, all of you.” The guards and Grubber looked at him confused, he rose his staff and cracked it against the floor lightning arcing off in all directions as he shouted again, “I said NOW!” the Storm King repeated. The guards and Grubber quickly fled the room leaving only Grogar and the Storm King left.

Grogar approached the Storm King and spoke up, “Discord was a failure...” The Storm King smiled and then laughed at him,

“Oh? Your magic not up to dispelling his petrification ya old goat?” he snickered. Then he found himself thrown across the room slamming into his throne almost knocking it over from sheer force. He clutched his chest and coughed the wind knocked out of him from the hit, he turned his attention back to Grogar who stood glaring back, horns glowing a dark yellow shade.

“Do not underestimate my power...ever. I could easily march into Canterlot and destroy Celestia even without my bell.” he warned the Storm King.

“Then why haven’t you done it?” the King asked, gritting his teeth angrily.

Grogar approached him and explained, “Celestia has powerful allies, and with her sister now at her side as well as her family I would be a fool to do such a thing now. And whether she realizes it or not, there are the elements of harmony that they possess...” The Storm King sat upright in his throne and scratched his chin wondering why Grogar would come all the way out here instead of summoning him like usual.

“So what happened with Discord? I thought he was supposed to be our Ace in the hole?” he asked, Grogar grit his teeth in anger.

“I have underestimated Celestia’s family it would seem, even after releasing him they managed to turn him to their side using the idea of Friendship...” Grogar said he turned to face the Storm King. “I am here now to tell you that I will be searching for new allies elsewhere, in the meantime I want you to continue to build your armies. I don’t care what it takes, have them ready when I call for you...or else.” Grogar’s horns glowed again with magic another portal opening behind him with a loud boom, he turned and disappeared into the portal leaving the Storm King to himself.

Twilight, Sunset, Shining Armor walked through Canterlot streets carrying a few boxes of Sunset’s things to the castle.

“I can’t believe Aunt Luna adopted you! Were not just friends anymore, now were cousins! It almost doesn’t feel real, right?” Twilight said with a smile.

Sunset smiled back and answered, “I was just as surprised as every pony else was, but I’m not complaining either. Now I get to be a part of the elite House of Moon.” Sunset walked with her head high, a smug grin on her face.

Twilight looked at Shining who smiled back she turned to Sunset and asked, “Don’t you mean House of Sun? Or at the least House of Sun and Moon?”

Sunset continued to grin and simply replied with a bit of sass in her voice, “Nope.” After a moment the three all laughed together as they continued to walk down the street they took notice of a small crowd gathered around poorly assembling wooden stage.

“What’s going on over there? Shining asked, Twilight and Sunset had no idea and approached. A voice soon erupted over the crowd announcing,

“Behold Mares and Gentlecolts at the wonders of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” and in a cloud of smoke a blue unicorn appeared. Despite her entrance though the cape and hat she wore were tattered and dirty,

“The Great and Powerful Trixie? I’ve never heard of her before.” Sunset said looking at Twilight confused, they looked at Shining who was scratching his chin thinking.

“I think I’ve seen her before, but where was it?” he asked. The three turned their attention back to the stage and watched as Trixie began her magic show, despite her efforts though her all her tricks either didn’t work or were lack luster at best eventually earning her an angry audience. A few ponies began to leave grumbling and arguing about how the poor quality of her Trixie’s show,

“Wait, the Great and Powerful Trixie hasn’t finished her show yet! I have last trick if you just wait!” she begged, she threw down a smoke bomb which sadly was just a dud and only bounced off the stage floor without going off. Finally the last of the crowd had left leaving only Twilight and the others. Trixie sat on the edge of the stage a defeated look on her face, Twilight walked up Sunset and Shining following her.

“Umm...I liked your show. Are you doing another any time soon? Twilight asked, Trixie took her hat off and groaned.

“You don’t have to lie...my show’s not what it used to be I know it.” she said. Sunset walked up next to Trixie and sat down,

“Why is that? This doesn’t seem like your first attempt, did something happen? She asked. Trixie lifted her head up and groaned again,

“My caravan got destroyed a few weeks back, most of my best tricks and supplies were in it. I’ve been struggling to get by ever since.” she replied.

Shining finally spoke up, “Oh! That’s right, you were that unicorn in that small town. What was it called? Ponyville I think? It got attacked by an Ursa Minor, and the E.U.P. had to be called in to take care of it. Were lucky no ponies got seriously hurt during the whole thing.” Trixie sighed and fell onto her back,

“And its all because of my bragging it happened. I kept telling every pony how I had bested an Ursa Major, then a couple of dumb kids brought one back to town...I couldn’t exactly live up to my reputation then.” Trixie added. Sunset and Twilight looked at one another a little concerned,

“So what’re doing now? I mean besides your show obviously.” Sunset asked, Trixie still lying on her back groaned again.

“I’m trying to save up for another caravan and better supplies, but at this rate I’ll end working on a rock farm or something just to make ends meet.” she replied. After a brief pause Twilight began to think, Trixie didn’t seem like a bad pony to her just down on her luck was all.

“Well, we could help you with your next show if you want. I don’t know much about doing a magic show, but it might be a good start to helping you get back on your hooves right?” she asked. Trixie sat up and looked at Twilight and the others,

“Really? You’d help me? But I couldn’t give you anything back in return...” Trixie replied. Sunset and Twilight smiled looking at Shining before answering, “You don't need to worry about repaying us. For now let’s see what we can get done.” Twilight replied.

Twilight, Sunset, and Shining soon split up in order to get what they needed for Trixie’s next show. Sunset went to the theater and talked to Juniper first. After a brief conversation with her Uncle and a little convincing he agreed to let them use the theater for the night. Shining went back to the castle and told Cadence and Spike what was happening and the three decided to hang up fliers around Canterlot to help advertise for the show. Lastly, Twilight took Trixie to see Rarity who agreed to fix all the tears and worn out parts of her hat and cape.

Trixie sat with Twilight as Rarity worked on her clothes she looked over at Twilight and finally asked, “Why are you helping me? You barely know me Twilight...” Twilight looked at Trixie and simply smiled back,

“Should I not help? You look like you could use a friend right now Trixie. My mom always taught me its important to help those in need and I’m not about to go back on that now of course.” Twilight answered. Trixie wasn’t sure what to think of Twilight’s attitude but she also knew she was right and it was better than the alternative she thought. Rarity finally finished and presented Trixie’s cape and hat, now in pristine condition, Trixie put them on and stood in front of one of Rarity’s mirrors with a confident smile and announced.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is finally ready!”

A few hours later and everything was all set, the theater was open and tickets being sold to any pony interested in Trixie’s show. Twilight and the others stood backstage with Trixie watching as the theater was slowly filling up. It wasn’t quite a full house like Trixie had hoped for but she eager to get back on stage all the same.

“Alright, everything’s all set, all you need to do is get out there and wow this audience Trixie. And don’t worry if anything goes wrong were all here to help out okay?” Twilight said with a smile.

Trixie threw her cape over her shoulder holding her head high with a smile and replied, “As if anything could go wrong for Trixie tonight, this is exactly the kind of crowd Trixie yearns for!” with a swing of her hoof she threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared reappearing on stage in another cloud of smoke from another smoke bomb.

“Wow, she really knows how to work the crowd doesn’t she?” Sunset asked, Trixie’s show went on for the next hour she performed trick after trick without fail the others only having to step out onto the stage to help when Trixie needed another prop for her magic show. Eventually the show had finally come to an end and the audience left the theater, Trixie was showing a new level of happiness that none of them had seen from her before. They all sat backstage celebrating the show’s success eating a few snacks and drinking cider,

“Congratulations on the great show Trixie, I’m glad everything went as planned this time.” Twilight said. Trixie took a sip of her drink and then stood tall showboating again,

“The Great and Powerful Trixie was never worried in the first place! She always brings in a crowd!” They all had a hearty laugh and Juniper walked up to Trixie with a smile carrying a small coin purse.

“Here you go Trixie, this is your cut from tonight’s show. Also, if your interested...my Uncle was wondering if you’d mind doing a few more shows throughout the week. He thinks it would be a good way to mix things up, of course he’ll pay you like tonight.” Juniper said. Trixie looked over the bits she’d been given, it wasn’t enough to afford a new caravan she thought but it was a good start.

Trixie lifted her head and said with a smile, “The Great and Powerful Trixie gladly accepts your generous offer! Trixie swears to bring a full house with tomorrow nights show.” Juniper smiled back excited to hear Trixie agree,

“That’s great! I’ll go tell my Uncle right now, we’ll figure out a good time to get everything set up and talk to you.” she replied before trotting off. Trixie turned and sat down and took her hat off,

“Acutally, I need to really thank all of you for helping me...you didn’t owe me anything and had no reason to help me at that. I just want to say how much that really means to me right now. So, thank you...” Trixie said with a smile.

Twilight smiled and walked over to Trixie putting her leg around her and replying, “Oh come on Trixie, were friends now right? That’s what friends do, they help each other out.” Trixie got her confident smile again and put her hat back on saying,

“The Great and Powerful Trixie deserves nothing less than the Greatest and Powerfulest friends that Equestria has to offer!”

Author's Note

Once again, I'm sorry for the long delay. I've been distracted by a multitude of things the last week or so and meant to get this up much sooner. :pinkiesad2:
Silver lining though I got to deliver a chapter that focused on Equestria's greatest and most powerful unicorn. Coming up with what to Trixie if Twilight never went to Ponyville was a little bit difficult but I like to think I gave it a good and accurate way for it all to happen. :trixieshiftright:
Anyways, next chapter is when the Nightmare Force arc begins. Expect some focus on Twilight and Luna as they try to resolve the situation that's been given to them.

Bad Dreams

Twilight and Spike walked through Canterlot, Twilight carrying a few rolls of fabric with her magic.

“So Rarity asked you to get this fabric for her?” Spike asked,

Twilight nodded and smiled back. “That’s right, it’s silk from Saddle-Arabia. Rarity was having trouble getting it on her own so I pulled a few strings and got what she wanted. I hope she can make some good clothes for her shop with it. But how come your coming along on this Spike? Hoping to see Sweetie Belle maybe?” Twilight teased. Spike sneered and looked away from Twilight,

“I was gonna invite her to join us on game night is all...now that we’ve got Cadence and Discord playing I thought maybe it’d be nice to have another player is all.” he answered. Twilight giggled at Spike’s obvious crush on the little filly which Spike angrily snapped at Twilight not to tease him. Twilight and Spike finally reached Rarity’s shop, Spike opened the door for Twilight and as the two entered they were greeted by Sweetie Belle now wearing a blue dress for her uniform.

“Spike! Twilight! It so good to see you.” Sweetie walked over and hugged Twilight then Spike, but then giving Spike a quick kiss on the cheek after.

“Is Rarity around Sweetie? I’ve got some of the fabrics she asked for.” Twilight asked, Sweetie nodded explaining Rarity was in her studio in the back of the boutique.

Spike stood next to Sweetie alone in the room now, “So, uh...Sweetie. I was wondering. Did you maybe want to come to our game night later this week? You know, if you’re not busy that is.” he asked.

“Game night?” Sweetie asked as she looked back at Spike while setting up one of Rarity’s displays.

Spike walked over a smile on his face, “Yeah, Shining, Cadence, Discord, and I get together every week and play Ogres and Oubliettes. I thought maybe you’d want to join us, I promise it’ll be fun.”

Sweetie stopped to think for a moment then smiled turning to face Spike. “Sure, I’d like to come. But I don’t know how to play really. You think that’ll be ok?” she said.

Spike got excited hearing Sweetie say yes, “Oh don’t worry, we can show you as we play. Plus Cadence and Shining will help out too. You’re gonna have so much fun I promise!” Spike replied.

Twilight walked into the back of the boutique to find Rarity slumped across her desk asleep, her mane and tail a little messy which was unusual for Rarity, Twilight thought. She walked over and gently nudged her trying to wake her, “Rarity? Is this a bad time?” she asked.

Rarity sprang to life bags under her eyes and clear signs she was tired. She turned to face Twilight and then sighed with relief at the sight of her. “Oh, Twilight darling...it’s only you.” she said before letting out a deep yawn.

“Wow...are you okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look a complete mess before.” Twilight asked,

Rarity picked up a nearby brush and tried to fix her mane, “Yes well...I’ve been having trouble sleeping these past few days is all. Bad dreams and such, I’m sure you know how it is Twilight.” she answered. “Although it has been taking its toll and making getting any real work around the boutique done a challenge I will say that.”

Twilight handed Rarity the spools of fabric she had brought which Rarity took with an eager smile. “Well, I could talk to my Aunt Luna for you. She’s in charge of making sure ponies have good dreams, I’ll ask her to take a look at yours tonight.” Twilight said.

Rarity set the fabric down with the rest of the spools she had letting out another soft yawn as she did. “Oh I’d really appreciate that Twilight, I hate having to bother a pony such as yourself with something like this. But it is starting to get a little exhausting.”

Twilight smiled back and turned to leave, “Well, I’ll let you get back to work then Rarity. But if you need any help don’t be afraid to ask, I’ll understand if you need an extra set of hooves hear and there.” Twilight said as she walked back to the front of the shop. Spike was still talking to Sweetie trying to explain to her how gaming night was.

He looked up and saw Twilight ready to leave, “I’ll see you later then, right Sweetie?” he asked a bright smile on his face. Sweetie nodded and gave Spike another quick kiss on the cheek saying goodbye. Twilight and Spike walked out of the shop and Twilight looked at Spike with a smile,

“You two are really getting close Spike, is she your girlfriend yet? Twilight teased.

Spike looked back at her an annoyed scowl on his face, “I don’t need you to teasing me about this too! I get enough of that from Cadence you know.” he snapped. Twilight laughed as the two walked back towards the castle.

Twilight lay in bed dreaming peacefully, in her dreams she stood on a stage adorned in sagely robes an audience consisting of her friends, family, and all of Equestria’s most elite unicorn mages. The audience applauded as she stood smiling, a unicorn approaching and placing a medal around her neck.

“Twilight Sparkle, it is my honor as head of the Equestria Bureau of Magical Research and defense to award this medal for learning all the magic in Equestria. As well as categorizing every book in the world into a single gigantic library. We now hereby dub you the Arch mage, Unicorn Supreme Magistrate of all of Canterlot.” He said, Twilight stood smiling basking in the audiences applause. As she stood watching every pony applaud her an older gray Stallion in blue, star covered robs approached her.

“Twilight Sparkle, I, Starswirl the bearded congratulate you on such a monumental achievement, and would like you to have my hat.” Starswirl said as he lifted his hat and placed it on Twilight’s head. She grinned with excitement, flowers and confetti falling from above lights shining on her.

Suddenly a portal opened up behind her, she turned to see Luna emerging a panicked look on her face. “Twilight!” she said.

Twilight turned to face her, “Oh Aunt Luna, um...I’m not really sure this counts as a bad dream. But it is a little embarrassing though.” Twilight replied, before she could say anything more Luna rushed up to her and grabbed her shoulders looking her in the eye.

“Twilight! There’s no time to explain! Your friend Rarity, she’s in grave danger! I need you to come with me at once!” Luna said before pulling Twilight through the portal behind the two of them. As the two mares emerged through the portal it closed behind them, Twilight looked around and saw they were standing in a dark and distorted version of Rarity’s boutique, torn and tattered dresses hanging everywhere and scattered across the floor, voices echoing from a distance whispering harsh words about the poor quality of Rarity’s work.

“What? What’s happening here?” Twilight asked,

Luna began to rush ahead calling out to Twilight as she did. “Twilight, there’s no time! I need your help now!” Twilight didn’t ask questions, the thought of her friend in danger was all the motivation she needed. The two reached what was supposed to be the entrance of the store and finally saw Rarity. Twilight slid to a stop gasping as a massive stallion made of smoke and shadow stood over Rarity who lay on the floor crying. Dark shadows poured from Rarity’s body like smoke,

“Rarity!” Twilight called out to her but Rarity didn’t respond.

The massive shadowy beast looking at Twilight and Luna and snarled, “Your’e too late...soon I will escape this place! And your friend will be the means by which I leave!” Twilight watched as the shadows began to pour into Rarity, her coat slowly turning a jet black color, her mane becoming longer.

“No fiend! You will not take this pony for yourself!” Luna shouted as she and Twilight unleashed bursts of magic from their horns striking the creature and pushing him back. Twilight watched as they pressed their attack and saw Rarity slowly reverting to normal.

“It’s working! Keep attacking!” Twilight shouted.

The shadow growled and shouted in rage, “NO! You will not deny me my new vessel fools!!!” And in a massive stomp the entire shop shook. Shattering and crumbling into nothing, Luna instinctively used her magics to grab Rarity and Twilight and levitate them to safety. Then in a bright flash, Twilight woke up in her bed. She sat up and looked around, she turned to the window and saw the morning sun shining through the curtains. Twilight sprang to her hooves and rushed to find Luna, racing to Luna’s room she found her aunt just outside her bedroom an exhausted look on her face.

“Aunt Luna! Are you ok?” Twilight asked.

Luna smiled and replied, “Yes Twilight, I’m alright. Thank you for helping, I couldn’t have done it on my own.” Twilight sat down and sighed with relief,

“Well, I’m glad we were able to save Rarity. Who knows what that monster could’ve done if we hadn’t stopped him.” Twilight said,

Luna shook her head though and said. “No Twilight...we didn’t destroy the creature...I’m afraid he’s still in your friends mind, and next time he’ll be better prepared for the both of us...”

Author's Note

Next chapter is here, ugh... I'm taking way too long with these updates, especially since it usually only takes a day or two to write them. I'll try and get the next update up faster as I have a good idea of where this arc is going. :twilightsheepish: Of course that's also assuming I don't just default to playing my Switch like I have the last few days. (Again, sry. I try to update as fast as I can.) :pinkiesad2: Well anyway, give me some likes and leave me some comments. Thanks again for reading my story and liking my work. :yay:

Nightmare Rarity

Every pony in the House of Sun sat around the table in the castle study, Rarity in a chair shaking and barely holding onto a cup of coffee. Twilight sat next to her a hoof on her shoulder trying to reassure her,

“So that’s what happened sister, I’m afraid things will only get worse from here unless we do something soon.” Luna finished explaining to the others.

“But what is this thing anyway? And why did it choose Rarity of every pony?” Cadence asked.

Luna sat silent for a moment, “I’m afraid I don’t have a good answer Cadence, all I know about this creature is that he’s made of an ancient magic that could very well precede Starswirl himself. The fact he’s able to effect the dream realm to the same degree as me is also concerning. If allowed to take control of your friend, who knows what kind of damage it could unleash onto Canterlot, let alone all of Equestria.” she said.

Celestia stood next to Luna and asked, “So what is the plan then sister? Do you have a way to defeat this creature? We certainly can’t allow it to take control of Rarity.” Luna looked around the room at Spike and the other ponies watching and waiting for her response.

“With Ms. Rarity’s permission, I’ll have all of us enter the dream realm and confront the creature. Once there we simply battle and contain the beast hopefully destroying it in the process. Make no mistake, this won’t be an easy battle. He already knows were coming to fight him and will likely be prepared for a long and lengthy battle.” Luna answered.

Shining put his hoof around Cadence and smiled confidently, “With all of us and Mom helping I’m sure we could stop this thing.” he said.

Celestia and Luna looked at one another nervously, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to help Shining, my magic is different from Luna’s and I won’t be much use in the dream realm. That’s why I’ll have to stay out here and make sure that nothing goes wrong. The worst case scenario, I’ll be the last thing to keep this creature from attacking Canterlot.” Celestia said. The room suddenly had an uneasy silence to it, but then Twilight spoke up to help build every ponies confidence.

“It’s okay, as long as all of us are together there’s no way we can fail. We’ve defeated Discord and saved Aunt Luna before, I know we can handle this!” Twilight looked back to Rarity still sitting nervously, “Are you okay with this Rarity? If you aren’t comfortable with this we can find another way.” Twilight asked.

Rarity shook her head and took a sip from her coffee, “No darling, I understand completely why this has to be done. This is far more important than just me, your family has to keep Equestria safe at any costs.” Rarity replied. Twilight smiled and looked at Luna and Celestia,

“Very well, I’ll get the necessary preparations done and we’ll meet in the eastern guest rooms this evening to begin.” Luna said, and after a moment the group dispersed to get ready for the plan.

The evening had come at long last, Celestia finished setting the sun and Luna raising the moon. They all stood in the guest room where Luna had told them meet, a group of beds circled the perimeter of the room. Rarity lay in one of the beds in her nightgown clutching the blanket, Twilight stood next to her.

“Don’t worry about Sweetie Belle, I’ve got my friend Moondancer watching her while we do this.” Twilight explained. Rarity nodded and looked to Luna who stood in the center of the room next to Sunset,

“Are we ready for this? It’s going to get a lot worse from here.” Sunset said. Luna nodded and gave every pony their instructions, each pony lying in a bed and laid down to sleep. As expected Rarity was the first to fall asleep, the others shortly following after. Luna levitated into the air and focused her magic white ribbons of magic extended from her horn and connected to each pony in the room linking them all in the dream realm as Luna had planned. She looked down at Celestia watching,

“Good luck Sister, I know you can do this.” Celestia said. Luna smiled back at her Celestia and then shut her eyes and disappeared entering the dream realm.

Rarity found herself back in her boutique at first everything seemed normal, but then as she went to reach for her supplies voices began to echo throughout the shop.

“No one wants your dresses.”

“Your work is pathetic.”

“You call this fashion?!” the voices chanted, Rarity closed her eyes and covered her ears trying to drown them out like she did every night. She was always a generous pony, and the idea of hearing all this was maddening to her. She opened her eyes and the boutique slowly turned dark, the lights fading, and the shop violently changing shape becoming distorted, the dresses and clothes she had on display aging and becoming horrifying to look at.

“No! Please, stop this...I don’t want this to happen again...” Rarity cried, behind her the shadowy stallion emerged from the darkness.

“You have no say...this is what you are now. You tell every pony you left Ponyville for a fresh start, but I know the truth. You ran away, scared that no pony appreciated your work, that no pony liked what you had to offer, but who can blame you? Such a small insignificant town like that, your generosity was wasted on them.” he whispered to her. Rarity clutched her ears tighter, unbeknownst to Rarity her coat and hair began to change again. “Accept my gifts, and every pony will come to worship you for what you have to offer...” he continued to say. Rarity shook her head in denial, but slowly she was succumbing to the creatures powers. Then a magic blast shot across the room and struck him knocking him away from Rarity.

The shadow looked up and saw Luna and her family ready to fight, “Foul beast! This ends tonight! You will take no ponies this day, I swear it!” Luna shouted as they all rushed to Rarity’s aid. Twilight stood next to Rarity firing blasts of magic at the Shadow stallion, while the others charged in. Cadence and Luna flew above blasting the beast from behind, Sunset and Shining stood below with Spike adding their magic to Spike’s flames. Twilight looked back and saw Rarity slowly changing back to normal same as last night. She smiled and thought this could work, they could save Rarity at this rate! The House of Sun continued to bombard the beast, smoke and shadow pouring from his body, he screamed in pain as the combined magics tore away at his body. At long last the creature finally exploded into a cloud of dark smoke his scream echoing and then slowly fading.

Every pony stopped and smiled, “We did it! We beat him, I knew we could do it.” Sunset announced. Luna looked around nervously though the boutique was still distorted though she thought. If they had truly beaten the beast then why hadn’t everything changed back to Rarity’s normal dream? Before Luna could speak up though a sinister laughter echoed throughout the room,

“You fools...this is exactly what I wanted, whilst you paid attention to an imitation I got exactly what I needed.” Twilight gasped and turned to see darkness and shadow pour out of Rarity, Twilight tried to cast a spell to counter but it was no use. Rarity’s body slowly grew to match Celestia’s height, her mane and tail growing in length a white highlight in both, her coat a jet black, and lastly her cutie mark changing to match her new form. Then she turned to face the others her eyes now an emerald green shade.

“I have what I wanted...” she said. Luna and the others rushed to attack, but then with a quick spell shadows emerged from the ground and quickly immobilized them all. Twilight was pulled back held to the ground on her back beside Sunset,

“Rarity! Fight this! You know what he said isn’t true! Every pony loves you for your generosity!” Twilight shouted.

Rarity laughed though, “She can’t hear you anymore Twilight Sparkle...I was content with letting my last host believe she was in control, but now...her mind is just noise, a minor distraction at best.” she said as she stood looking down at the others.

“First host? Foul creature! What other pony have you done this too! Answer me!” Luna shouted, Rarity smiled and walked over to Luna she leaned in close and whispered.

“You really don’t remember? A thousand years ago...your precious meteor shower festival...they gave it to your sister instead...” Luna’s face turned pale as she looked in shock.

“No...that...that can’t be...” she said, Twilight looked at Luna then Rarity.

“What? Who was it?” she asked. Rarity then stood upright smiling,

“It...was you...all these years...I thought it was my own jealously of Tia, but...you did it. You changed me into Nightmare Moon...all those ponies I hurt, the things I said to my sister...it was because of you!” Luna said.

Rarity laughed holding her hoof to her mouth in mocking way, “Oh Luna, I didn’t do anything but give you the power and attention you craved. Every action, every word, every spell, you did it all yourself. As I said before, you were fully in control of what you were doing the entire time...Its a shame you rejected me though...” Rarity explained her gaze then turning to Cadence, her eyes shifting to a look of anger. “Really? A princess of love? I’d never thought it possible to tell the truth, such a selfless emotion it is, how could any creature possibly embody it after all?” Rarity said as she slowly approached Cadence, Shining struggled to try and get free to protect Cadence. Finally stopping in front of Cadence, Rarity glared down at the pink Alicorn. “I have a grudge to satisfy firstly, the things I could’ve accomplished with Luna as my host.” she said, dark magics began to flow from Rarity’s horn as she prepared to attack. Twilight and the others watched trying to break free,

“If only I had better magic, I wish I was a wizard like Starswirl!” Twilight thought wishing with every ounce of her body. Then in a sudden burst of light Twilight broke free, the light fading to reveal her now dressed like Starswirl. Without a second thought she turned and blasted Rarity as she looked back knocking her away from her family. Rarity recovered quickly though and began to battle Twilight, Luna gasped in the sudden realization of what Twilight had done.

“Listen every pony! This is the dream realm, whatever you will, it becomes reality! Do the same as Twilight, become what you want and fight back!” Luna shouted to the others.

“Really? That’s how it works?” Sunset asked, she closed her eyes and started to focus. Then like Twilight a flash of light engulfed Sunset and she transformed into a tight blue costume with a red cape, her cutie mark on the chest. Sunset turned and suddenly flew without wings charging at Rarity who was distracted by Twilight and struck her in the face with her hoof knocking her back. “Woohoo! Super powers!” Sunset cheered. Shining, Spike, and Cadence watched for a moment in awe.

“Well, if they can do it. Why can’t we?” Shining said, the three focused and soon they all transformed as well, Spike into a taller more muscly Dragon, Cadence into full grown Alicorn with ethereal mane and white dress, and lastly Shining into his Ogres and Oubliettes character. Cadence and Spike rushed to aid Sunset and Twilight, as Rarity looked up she saw Spike bearing down on her and then engulf her in his flames. Rarity raised a barrier to block the attack but already taken damage, Shining rushed to Luna and drew his axe it glowed with a bright golden magic and he swiftly cut Luna free so she could join the battle. Rarity fired bursts of magic back at the House of Sun as they fought her, but the numbers were against her now. For every hit she gave to them they returned two more. Finally Luna and Twilight stepped forward casting a barrier around Rarity trapping her, Cadence then cast her love spell onto her next the barrier making it as strong as it was when they fought Nightmare Moon. Rarity screamed in agony as smoke and shadow began to pour off of her body. Slowly Rarity began to change back to her normal self, the nightmare stallion being pulled from her body by Cadence’s magic.

Finally when Rarity was free enough Twilight reached for her grabbing her hooves, “Rarity!! Come on! Grab on!” Twilight shouted. The two gripped one anothers hooves and Twilight began to pull her from the barrier. Just as Rarity seemed free the Nightmare Stallion erupted in a fit a rage,

“NOO!!!” he shrieked as he unleashed a massive burst of dark magic knocking every pony away from him, Twilight barely shielded herself in time. Dark shadows gripped Rarity and pulled her to the Nightmare, “I won’t be destroyed! If I die, then I’ll take this one with me!!” he shouted. Dark magics began to burn away at Rarity who screamed in pain,

Twilight rushed over and shouted. “Stop it! Leave my friend alone!” Nightmare paused for a moment still clutching Rarity close,

“And what will you do to stop me exactly?” he asked before he began to hurt Rarity again. Twilight watched in horror as he hurt her friend, she didn’t know what to do she had to save her friend.

Then Twilight did something crazy, “Take me instead!!” she shouted.

Rarity’s eyes opened wide in shock, “Twilight darling, no! You can’t!” she begged. The Nightmare quickly muffled Rarity silencing her,

“You? What makes you think I would do that?” he asked.

Twilight was focused on Rarity the entire time though, “I’m...I’m stronger than Rarity, I know more magic as well. Plus I’m Princess Celestia’s adopted daughter. I’m the better choice, right?” she pleaded.

“And how do I know you’re telling me the truth?” he asked.

Twilight stepped towards him, “Just take me and let Rarity go, then you’ll have a host almost as powerful as Princess Luna! I swear!” Twilight begged. The Nightmare Stallion gave a sinister grin and then finally spoke,

“Deal...” A massive swarm of shadows poured out from every direction and into Twilight, Luna and the others began to recover when they saw what was happening.

“Twilight!! NO!! Fight back!” Sunset shouted, but it was too late the Nightmare fully merged with Twilight her coat and mane turning a darker shade.

“Oh...the power...the untapped potential of this one...no wonder Celestia wanted her.” she said. Then dark magics even greater than Luna’s poured out of her, a blue mask of dark magic light appeared around her eyes, then to Luna’s shock Twilight sprouted a pair of wings! She looked exactly like an Alicorn now she thought.

Sunset rushed over and shouted to her friend, “Twilight!! Come back to us!!”

Twilight then slowly turned and smiled, “Sorry Sunset...Twilight Sparkle is gone, now there is only...Midnight Sparkle...”

Author's Note

Okay confession time, I actually had this ready about a week ago and thought I'd posted it (Obviously not). So when I went to start brainstorming on the next chapter I noticed it wasn't posted and more less face palmed myself pretty hard. :pinkiesad2: Also the fact I've been sick the last week or so didn't exactly help things either. :pinkiesick: Not sure when i'll get the next update posted, but I will try and be quicker about it this time. Please be patient in the meantime, as I'm still not 100% just yet. :twilightsmile: Anyways, as usual give me some comments and/or likes and lets see where things go from there.

Midnight Reign

Midnight Sparkle stood smiling back at Luna and her family, they all looked back at her unsure of what was coming next.

Midnight’s horn began to glow, “Well now, shall we take it from the top?” Twilight’s family rushed to fight.

“Just do like we did with Rarity! We just have to separate the two of them again!" Sunset shouted as she rushed in first, she swung her hoof to try and punch her but was stopped just shy by a barrier. Sunset gasped in shock as Midnight smiled back, Shining leaped through the air and swung his axe trying to attack only for Midnight to move away with a single flap of her wings. Once in the air Luna and Cadence unleashed combined blasts of magic at her the blasts stopped just just before hitting her again but this time they gathered together and were merged into a single attack now under Midnight’s control.

“You would not believe the power this one has, I’m so glad you brought her Luna. She’s a much better host than you ever were.” Midnight taunted before pouring her dark magic into the ball of magic before her increasing its size to double what it was. Luna watched in horror at how much stronger this monster had made Twilight, then Midnight raised her wings and threw her attack at them. Luna and Cadence raised a barrier as strong as they could muster to try and block the attack but it was easily shattered the attack colliding with the two alicorns and knocking them down. Sunset, Spike, and Shining charged at Midnight who almost mockingly landed in front of them. Shining swung his axe but missed Midnight then countered kicking him in the side and knocking him away as if he were made of paper. Next Sunset charged in trying to tackle Midnight, but when she collided with her Sunset was shocked to see that her opponent didn’t even flinch. Midnight smiled and then grabbed Sunset with her wings throwing her behind her and onto the ground with a colossal thud. Then Spike unleashed the full force of his fire engulfing Midnight in his flames hoping that it would weaken her enough to free Twilight.

But then he felt a hoof tap his shoulder he held his breath and then heard Midnight whisper in his ear, “Not good enough little dragon...” Then in a flash she struck Spike with her hoof knocking him senseless and onto the ground. Midnight stood looking at how easily she was able to defeat the House of Sun with Twilight as its host now. She turned to leave only to have a mass of blue chains erupt from every direction and restrain her, holding her in place.

“Really? This old trick?” Midnight groaned as she turned to see Luna standing her horn glowing with magic. Luna cast another spell and Midnight felt a tug inside her, Luna was trying to split the Nightmare creature from Twilight.

“Nice try Princess, but she allowed me take control of her willingly to save her friend. It’ll take more than you to break the hold I have on her now!” she said before spreading her wings and shattering Luna’s spell, she charged and tackled Luna slamming her into a wall, Luna screamed from the pain of the hit.

“How is she this strong? How much power was Twilight hiding?!” Luna thought.

Midnight then began to cast another spell, “I’ll be going now...and you, you’ll stay right here.” Midnight said. A small red rune appeared on Luna’s chest and Midnight released her, she dropped to the ground her body gone limp from the force of Midnight’s previous attack. Luna tried to stand, she tried to cast a spell and stop her but as she looked up dark magics and shadows enveloped Midnight Sparkle and in the blink of an eye she was gone.

“No! Tia, don’t let her escape! Please...” Luna begged.

Celestia looked out the window at Canterlot, Rarity and the rest of her family sleeping peacefully around her. Then the air suddenly began to turn cold, Celestia looked around before realizing that the dark magics pouring out of Twilight’s sleeping body were the cause.

“No! That can’t be...” she said, Celestia rushed over and begin to cast as many spells as she could to try and contain the dark magics out of her daughter. Despite everything she tried nothing worked and soon a massive burst of shadows erupted from Twilight and she changed into Midnight Sparkle right before Celestia’s eyes. Midnight softly landed on the bed and smiled back at Celestia.

“Princess Celestia...so nice to finally meet you after all this time. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to step aside and let me claim the Canterlot throne would you?” she asked. Celestia’s horn glowed with magic as she prepared to attack,

Midnight rolled her eyes and groaned. “I didn’t think so...besides, its more fun this way...” From outside the castle the tower suddenly exploded Celestia being thrown out into the night sky, she fell a short distance but then quickly recovered turning her attention back to Midnight Sparkle as she emerged from the castle interior with a smile. Celestia glared back and charged into the sky at Midnight Sparkle,

“Release my daughter at once!” she shouted. Celestia crashed against the barrier around Midnight and the two forces of magic began to spark and crack, Celestia pressed her attack trying to push through Midnight’s defenses.

“You might actually give me a better fight than your family did.” Midnight taunted, Celestia’s face turned to shock and the second her concentration shifted Midnight pushed back shattering her attack and blasting her with magic sending Celestia falling to the castle courtyard. The white princess recovered just in time and landed with a thud, then the shadows around her began to shift and from each a black wolf like shadow emerged. Celestia looked around and saw there had to be at least 20 of them, no more a small army almost.

“Now then, let’s get started on my reign of Canterlot shall we?” Midnight shouted from above. Most of the wolves immediately scattered and ran into the city Celestia called out for them to stop but before she could act one pounced onto her back and bit down into her shoulder. Celestia screamed and blasted if off quickly, but another rushed over and grabbed her front leg. Before Celestia knew it they were all over her biting and clawing her, she tried to fight them off with her strength but it was too much the pain was overwhelming as they sank their teeth deeper and deeper into her flesh. Finally Celestia grit her teeth and released a burst of magic in every direction destroying the wolves attacking her. Celestia turned her attention and saw the wolves rampaging in Canterlot, the guards were trying to fight them but the numbers weren’t on their side she thought. Celestia tried to rush to help but as soon as she took a single step Midnight Sparkle came crashing down onto Celestia’s back smashing her into the ground and shaking the courtyard. The she released a massive burst of magic into Celestia's back keeping the blast going for almost a minute before stopping. Midnight stood over Celestia smiling, the princess lying on the ground not moving her body covered in teeth marks and burns from the magic attacks.

“Oh...don’t go to sleep just yet your highness. I have something else planned for you tonight...”

Moondancer rushed through the city streets, Sweetie Belle on her back holding on tight as she ran. The city guards all around fighting the shadow wolves and guiding every pony to the theater.

“What’s going on? Why are there wolves in the city?” Sweetie asked,

Moondancer turned her head to answer but kept her eyes focused on her path, “I don’t know Sweetie, I really don’t, but I promise. I WILL keep you safe, no matter what. I promised Twilight after all.” Moondancer and Sweetie finally made it to the theater the guards had gathered every pony in town at the theater as it was big enough to hold them and a good location to make a stand. Moondancer rushed inside the guards fighting off the shadow wolves that only seemed endless in number. Once inside, Moondancer set Sweetie Belle down and was quickly called out by Wallflower and Juniper who rushed up to her and hugged her tight, glad to see their friend was okay.

“I’m glad the both of you are here, do you have any idea what’s going on? Princess Luna didn’t change back to Nightmare Moon or something did she?” Juniper asked, Wallflower and Moondancer didn’t have an answer though. Then the sound of the fighting outside the theater suddenly seemed to stop, as every pony began to look towards the entrance as a booming voice echoed from the entrance.

“Ponies of Canterlot...” Moondancer gasped, it was distorted but she knew that voice, Twilight?! Moondancer, Sweetie Belle, and her friends rushed to the entrance to see all the guards and Shadow wolves standing apart from one another both sides looking eager to begin fighting again. Then rising from the shadows was a bound and beaten Celestia sitting in the center of the wolf horde, her injuries were fresh and dark shadows held her legs and wings tightly together keeping her from moving. The wolves closest to her growled and snarled at her but not one tried to attack her. Every pony looked in horror at the state their benevolent leader was now in, when suddenly descending from above her was Midnight Sparkle. Moondancer and friends gasped in shock at the sight of her,

“I am Midnight Sparkle...and as you can see, I have beaten the House of Sun and your precious Princesses. Celestia is defeated and Luna remains trapped in the dream realm. As such I now claim all that they once ruled as my own, submit and bow before your new Empress and I will prove a benevolent deity. Oppose me...well, just look at Celestia...that should answer your questions.” Midnight proclaimed, every pony stood afraid but none dared speak up. Between Celestia and the wolves at Midnight’s command it seemed as if there was no chance of defeating her.

“Well? Bow to your EMPRESS, PEONS!!” she shouted aloud her voice becoming almost deafening in volume as she did, then slowly every pony began to kneel out of fear of Midnight Sparkle who simply smiled back her rule now secure.

As every pony began to kneel before Midnight Sparkle’s might, a soft crying was all that echoed through the dark domain. Trapped within it, bound by dark magics and shadow lay Twilight, forced to watch the Nightmare creature unleash its fury from within her own mind and made to watch every second of it. This was Twilight’s fault and she knew it, she only wanted to save Rarity she thought, she only wanted to help her friend, and now her family was trapped, her mother a prisoner. And she knew it was because of her, she had doomed all of Canterlot and she knew it.

Author's Note

Phew, got this one done quicker than expected. :twilightsmile:
That's part three of the Nightmare Forces arc, really needed to give this one a sense of hopelessness at the end and I think I pulled it off nicely. I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Hopefully my job won't be too overwhelming and pokemon won't distract me writing as badly as it has the last few weeks so we'll see how things go. Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave me some comments. I always enjoy some positive feedback. :pinkiehappy:

Twilight Rising

“What’s wrong Twilight?” a voice echoed throughout the dark domain, Twilight picked her head up. She stood and tried to move away but the shadows bound her in place, the most she could move was simply to stand up. She tugged at the shadows and tried to cast a spell to break free but it was useless, then she felt a cold looming presence behind her. She looked back and saw the Nightmare Creature standing over her, his size was almost double what it was originally now. He smiled and leaned in close speaking into her ear softly,

“I thought you wanted this? After all, your friend is safe and free now. And just like you promised I get you as my new host...just look at what we’ve accomplished together too, within a few short hours we’ve done more together than Luna and I ever did as Nightmare Moon. You should be so proud of this.” he taunted as he mockingly pet Twilight on her head. Twilight tried to smack his hoof away but it was too big and he was too strong,

“NO! I didn’t want this! I didn’t want you to hurt my family! My friends! My...my...my Mom...” Twilight sobbed as she slumped forward crying, the Nightmare couldn’t help but smile at how broken Twilight was right now. The thought of her in this state secured his control, she had no will to fight back which meant he would have all of Equestria to conquer in a matter of hours.

“Just sit back and relax my little pony, if you behave yourself I might just let Celestia live.” he said, Twilight’s eyes opened at the mention of his words she looked up as he continued to talk.

“After all, there are many secrets she knows about both Canterlot and Equestria that even I don’t. I’d be a fool to let such a valuable asset be destroyed so easily...” He walked past Twilight continuing to explain his intentions to Twilight, as she listened Twilight’s heart was racing.

“Is he serious? He’ll let her live? All I have to do is obey him?” she thought a small sense of hope was growing in Twilight’s mind, she loved her mother and her family more than anything if it meant saving them she’d do it even under these conditions. The Nightmare looked and saw the look on Twilight’s face the small thread of hope she had, he approached her and set his hoof on her head again and leaned his face in close to hers.

"By the way...I was lying...” he said, Twilight’s eyes widened and as the Nightmare turned and disappeared from her sight, Twilight broke. She collapsed to the ground and let a deafening shriek, tears pouring from her eyes, an all new level of hopelessness had consumed her now. The monster had purposely fed her false hope just to break her further, Twilight buried her face in her front legs and cried she had given up now, for her, it was all over.

In the dream realm Luna slowly woke to a gentle nudging, she looked up and saw Cadence and the others all standing around her. She smiled happy to see them all alright, but then her face turned to a state of panic. She remembered the Nightmare had escaped with Twilight! Luna tried to stand but stumbled, Shining and Spike helped her to her hooves.

“We have to get back to Canterlot! Celestia and every pony there is in great danger! That monster has escaped with Twilight!” Luna said, Sunset walked over and put her hoof on Luna’s shoulder trying to calm her.

“We know Princess, but you need to calm down. Your hurt right now and we need to be ready for the fight he’s going to give us.” Sunset replied. Cadence nodded and stepped towards Luna,

“She’s right, we were a lot stronger here in the dream realm and he still beat us. Once were back in Equestria it’s going to be even more difficult to beat him, it’s gonna take all of us including Auntie.” Cadence said. Luna nodded her family was right of course, she took a moment to compose herself and then began to cast a spell to allow them to leave the dream realm. As her horn began to glow so did the rune left on her by Midnight Sparkle, Luna grit her teeth in pain and stumbled before stopping the spell she was casting.

“What is it? What is that?” Sunset ask noticing the rune glowing. The sight of the rune glowing a bright shade of red made Luna furious,

“A binding rune, that monster has made sure I can’t leave here...he most think I’m a greater threat than Tia. So now he has me bound here so I can’t help her.” she explained. The others all looked at one another concerned, finally Rarity sitting behind them all spoke up.

“I’m so sorry...this is my fault. All of it, if I had only said something sooner than none of this would’ve happened. Then Twilight wouldn’t be...” Before Rarity could finish her sentence though Shining stormed over to her and pressed his forehead to hers and said,

“This is NOT your fault, its NO pony’s fault! The only creature to blame here is that monster that has my baby sister now. So, you can stay here and pout or you can try and help us save Twilight. What’s it gonna be Rarity?” Rarity looked at Shining a little afraid of the tone in his voice but then she nodded and stood up.

“I...I want to save Twilight too! She let that monster take her to save me, what kind of friend would I be if I just stayed here and waited?” Rarity replied. After a moment though Spike spoke up next,

“But how do we get out of here? Aunt Luna just said we were stuck here!” Luna walked over and put her hoof on Spike’s shoulder.

“No Spike, I said “I” was trapped here, its still within my power to send all of you back to your bodies. But it’s going to be dangerous, and you’ll need to get Celestia’s help to fight this creature. I won’t lie, this will be far more dangerous than fighting Discord or...Nightmare Moon. We all saw how powerful Twilight had made this creature. Are you certain you want to fight?” Luna explained, without a word every pony looked at Luna and nodded in agreement a confidence unlike anything they had displayed before, their combined need to save Twilight giving them their resolve. Luna smiled seeing this confidence and then stood in the center of them all,

“Then allow me to send you back with haste, I will stay here and try to find a way to undo this rune or help Twilight from within the Nightmare.” Luna slowly began to rise off the ground her horn glowing a dark blue her magic flowing to all the ponies and dragon around her and then in a flash they were all gone. Luna now stood in the nexus, a mass space where all the dreams of the creatures of Equestria were connected. There were so few from ponies she noticed as she looked around, but that didn’t matter to her she had work to do.

Midnight Sparkle sat on Celestia’s throne her wolves lining the throne room, chained up in the center of the room Celestia.

“Nothing to say now Princess? You’ve gotten awfully quiet all of a sudden. I was honestly expecting you to try and escape or maybe attack me. But this, this is just boring...” she taunted. Celestia looked up at her an angry scowl on her face,

“I am doing something monster...something that you obviously don’t understand, something that can only come with years of experience and wisdom. Of which, I have had many, many, years of...” she snapped back. Midnight Sparkle looked at Celestia a little puzzled by her words, she could sense her casting no spells, she hadn’t tried to break free, what did she mean?

“Alright princess, I’ll bite. What do you know that I don’t?” she asked, Celestia simply smiled and answered.

“I know how to wait...” Midnight Sparkle gave her a dumbfounded look as she went to reply a massive blast of magic and dragon’s fire exploded through the wall her behind her engulfing her and sending her soaring across the throne room and into the wall on the other side. Celestia looked and could see her family rushing into the room and begin to battle the shadow wolves all around, instantly Celestia sprang to life shattering her binds and turning to face Midnight Sparkle who exploded out from the rubble of the throne room wall.

“Well now...I actually felt that one.” she said glaring back at Celestia and the others. Cadence and Sunset rushed up alongside Celestia ready to fight, Spike, Shining, and Rarity fighting off the remaining wolves in the throne room.

“Are you both prepared for this? It’s not going to be easy, and I can’t completely focus on protecting you this battle.” Celestia asked, she looked and saw the two mares beside her nod confidently. Then the three rushed to fight Midnight Sparkle, Celestia leaped into the air and fired a blast of magic at her opponent. Midnight Sparkle raised a shield front to her blocking the attack, the second the attack faded Sunset slid across the floor kicking her legs out from under her, before she could react Cadence charged from the other direction and tackled her slamming her into the floor with boom. Midnight blasted Cadence away and sprang up from the ground only to be struck from above by a magic blast from Celestia. Sunset quickly helped Cadence to her feet as Midnight flew into the air to attack Celestia, with a quick thought Sunset but a barrier between the two at the last second causing Midnight to slam into the barrier cracking and damaging it. Celestia reacted immediately knowing the barrier was a breath away from breaking and blasted Midnight again sending her back to the ground. She let out an infuriated scream as the three mares continued to pummel her around,

“Oh, now this is fun!! I actually like having to put some effort into a fight for a change!” she shouted as she fired a magic blast towards Celestia who swiftly dodged the blast barely missing the tip of her tail. Then a barrier that resembled diamond suddenly formed around her, followed by another purple barrier that resembled armor, Midnight looked behind her and saw Shining and Rarity casting the spells from behind, Spike standing in front of the two. Oddly enough they had left a noticeable hole in the barrier between Midnight and them, she laughed and asked.

“You know a barrier is useless if you give it an exit right?”

Shining smiled and replied, “True, but what happens when put a large amount of heat in a small enclosed space?” Midnight’s eyes widened in shock as she looked down to see Spike taking a deep breath and unleashing a massive burst of fire into the barriers completely engulfing Midnight. Spike unleashed as much fire as he could until he had to stop to catch his breath, the moment he stopped though Celestia, Sunset, and Cadence all added their own barriers sealing Midnight inside with all dragon’s fire that was now burning her all over.

“Was that enough?” Cadence shouted over the sound of the roaring flames, but then in a massive explosion the barriers shattered revealing an infuriated and burned Midnight. Every creature shielded their eyes from the sheer force of the blast, and as Celestia went to look Midnight crashed into her slamming her into the wall. Celestia gasped from the raw force and power of such an attack, Cadence tried to blast Midnight but as her attack flew towards her she quickly moved Celestia into its path causing Cadence to hit her aunt instead. Then with a mighty kick he sent Celestia charging towards Cadence who tried to catch her but was knocked over from the impact. Midnight then fired another blast of magic at the two hitting them dead on, Sunset was thrown against the wall from the explosion and when she went to look she suddenly saw Midnight was there beside her. She lunged forward biting Sunset on the shoulder and swinging her around slamming her into the wall with every ounce of strength she had, and then swung her back into the wall where she had been standing. Sunset fell to floor unconscious, and Midnight turned to see Shining charging at her. Midnight flew into the air avoiding Shining and then dropped down onto him crushing him into the ground, then she began to savagely strike him over and over with her hooves screaming like a lunatic. When she finally stopped she looked up and she saw Rarity and Spike watching, both visibly afraid now, Midnight’s breathing was heavy with rage now. Spike only thought about how this reminded him of how Nightmare Moon was when she'd begun to lose her fight with them. Spike stood in front of Rarity though, terrified as he was, he was determined to at least protect her from harm.

“NOO!!! Stop it!! Please!!!” Twilight shrieked as he watched the Nightmare use her own body to hurt her family and friends. Sunset was unconscious, Shining beaten to a bloody pulp, and she couldn’t tell if Cadence and Celestia were even alive now. And now, she slowly began to march towards her little brother Spike. Again, Twilight broke down crying she couldn’t even bring herself to watch now the pain was too much for her she thought.

“Twilight!” a voice suddenly echoed throughout the dark domain, Twilight stood up and looked around recognizing the voice.

“Aunt Luna! Where are you!? Help! I need your help!” she shouted back, then a ghostly, blue ethereal alicorn appeared before her. Twilight was little confused by this,

“Aunt Luna? Is that you?” she asked leaning towards it.

“Yes Twilight, though only in spirit. My body remains trapped in the dream realm still.” Luna explained, Twilight grit her teeth still crying.

“Aunt Luna...this is all my fault...I wanted to save Rarity and now...every one is getting hurt. I...I think he’s going to kill them...and I can’t stop it.” she sobbed. Luna reached over and hugged Twilight,

“I’m so sorry Twilight, I cannot fathom how hard this must be for you. But you cannot just quit, not now. You’re family needs you now, you have to fight back now more than ever.” she said. Twilight hugged Luna’s ethereal form as tight as she could and buried her face in its shoulder crying.

“But I can’t...I’m not strong like you...or like Mom...I’m so weak...” she sobbed. Luna grabbed Twilight’s shoulders and moved her to look her in the eyes,

“No Twilight! You are so much stronger than you realize, this creature, this Nightmare, he’s only as strong as he is because of YOUR strength, your magic, your power! And if you let him he will destroy everything you love. Are you going to sit back and let that happen? Are you willing to lose more than already have?” Luna shouted. Twilight looked at Luna for a moment unsure what to say, but then she remembered the pain of losing her parents how devastating that was and she never wanted to feel that pain ever again. Then Luna’s ethereal form began to slowly fade.

“What? What’s happening?” Twilight asked,

“Oh no, he knows...he knows I’m talking to you and he's shutting me out.” Luna said looking at her hooves, Twilight tried to hold Luna again but her hooves simply went through her.

“NO! Don’t leave me now! Please don’t go!” she begged. Twilight slumped forward her grief overtaking her again, Luna’s hoof moved under Twilight’s chin and even though she couldn’t physically touch her now she made Twilight lift her head and look at her as she finally faded away.

“You are Twilight Sparkle, you are Celestia’s student, and more than that her daughter. I believe in you Twilight, and so does the rest of your family. Now fight! Fight and save them!” Luna said as her ethereal form finally disappeared. Twilight stood alone in the void for a moment she looked up to see the Nightmare was still fighting her family, as she watched though Luna’s words echoed in her mind again. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood upright a new confidence in her and announced,

“Yes! I am Twilight Sparkle! And I’m done being controlled!!”

Author's Note

Finally got this chapter done, gotta a little distracted these last few days working on a few other fanfics. But this one is still my baby and I will always come back to it, even if it takes me few days to do it... :twilightsheepish:

And so now I got to show how much of an ass this Nightmare monster is, poor little Twilight :pinkiesad2: But with a little help from her best Aunt she's ready to fight back now, I'll try and get the next update up as soon as I can. But at the same time I don't know how tired I'm gonna be from my job and everything else that's going on. But I will keep updating when and where I can. :raritywink: In the meantime, hope you liked the newest update and leave me some comments! I always love hearing opinions of my loyal readers.

Twilight's Wings

A full week had passed since Midnight Sparkle’s defeat, and many things had happened within that time. The very next morning an angry mob had appeared outside the palace demanding answers, while Celestia and Luna had done their best to explain what had happened many ponies were still unhappy with Twilight’s actions going unpunished. Twilight herself was now despised by a good fraction of the city, but more were outright afraid of her entirely. She’d only left the castle a few times but each time she had one of her family members accompanying her as she did. The city itself was undergoing repairs from the attacks of Midnight Sparkle as well as the shadow wolves she had unleashed. It was the worst possible scenario in the capital now, and Twilight was at the center of it all. Sunset and her friends had tried their best to help fix Twilight’s reputation among the general public, with Wallflower’s help they managed to get an article in the Canterlot Newspaper published further explaining the circumstances behind Nightmare possessing Twilight, but it hardly helped fix the situation at hand. For all their efforts Twilight was no longer the once beloved daughter of Celestia and the House of Sun every pony knew.

Celestia stood at the door to the castle study, Twilight sat at the table in the center of the room reading and studying the books inside. Celestia was glad that she wasn’t staying in her room but at the same time she knew that Twilight was depressed and for good reason. Celestia walked away closing the door without drawing attention to herself. As she walked down the hallway she was met by Luna at the corner.

“Oh Luna, how are you? Any problems with your work last night?” Celestia asked, the two alicorns walked down the hallway together Luna seemed almost as distraught as Celestia.

“There were more nightmares about Midnight Sparkle last night...they’re fewer in number, but the fact that there are a few that are happening still.” Luna said.

This made Celestia sad as well, “Poor Twilight, I wish there was some way we could fix this but I’ve already done everything I can think of. Changing the minds of every pony in Canterlot is no easy feat though. And its not like we can just make them change their minds either...” Celestia added.

“I can certainly understand what Twilight is going though, being Nightmare Moon was something I’ll never forget. And seeing every pony afraid of you afterwards...it never gets easier. But I hope she finds her strength again, she’s so much stronger than she realizes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony with as much potential as she has. You saw what Nightmare was able to do by drawing out her full power, what’s worse I’m still not sure if her changing into an Alicorn was his doing or if she managed it on her own.” Luna added. She and Celestia walked until they reached the throne room, still being repaired from the damage of the battle before.

“That’s another thing that has me curious, Nightmare said Twilight used the elements of harmony to cast him out of her body. But, I’m not sure how she did it. What’s more I think...I think, the elements might have just divided themselves up amongst us. It’s no longer just you and I wielding them Luna, our whole family may very well be carrying one now.” Celestia explained.

Luna stopped to think about her sisters words for a moment, “But, there’s only one way to know for sure...do we? Do we want to see if this is true?” she asked, Celestia shook her head though.

“No, we still have enemies out there and I would prefer they not become suspicious of where the elements are currently being hidden. If they were to be destroyed now, who knows what might happen the next time that we'd need them.” Luna nodded in agreement, she knew her sister was right about this and the elements of harmony were to valuable to risk at that. The two sisters sat watching the construction ponies repairing everything and as they were Celestia saw them repairing the far wall where her throne once was.

“Oh...I hope you don’t mind sister. But, I decided to alter the throne room a little bit. We were both meant to rule over Equestria together, and I don’t intend to overshadow you ever again. So I asked them to make a second throne next to mine, one just for you.” Celestia said as she looked at Luna with a smile.

Luna smiled back and hugged Celestia tight, “You’re such a hopeless dork Tia, but thank you all the same.” she replied.

Twilight sat in the study reading at the table in the center of the room, her gaze focused on the book in front of her. She was reading up on old stories of Equestria’s forgotten heroes like Clover the clever and Rockhoof. Suddenly a large thick encyclopedia slammed down onto the desk scaring Twilight out of her daze. She looked up to see Sunset standing in front of her a smile on her face, then she laughed at her cousins reaction.

“Oh, hi Sunset...I didn’t hear you come in.” Twilight said, moving the encyclopedia aside.

“Well no duh, I said hi twice and walked a full lap around you and you just kept staring at that book the whole time.” Sunset sat next Twilight and pulled her close for a hug with her front hoof.

“How ya holding up Twi? Do you want to talk?” Sunset asked. Twilight sat quiet for a minute as Sunset hugged her,

“I do...but, I don’t even know where to start. I’m an alicorn now, but I didn’t earn it. Nightmare made me attack my family and scare all of Canterlot into obeying him, and to make matters worse, every pony is afraid of me. I can’t go outside without Cadence or Shining with me because I’m afraid of what might happen. Did you know some foal actually threw a rock at me? He kept screaming that I was a monster the entire time...” Twilight said. Sunset looked at her friend concerned and then she turned Twilight to look at her,

“Hey, every pony is only scared right now because the memories still fresh. You just have to give them time, once every pony has calmed down you just have to go out there and show them that you’re still you. That’s all Twilight, and until then we’re all here with you. So don’t forget that okay?” Sunset reassured her.

Twilight gently pushed Sunset back a little, “It’s not that simple Sunset, I was a genuine monster and possessed by an old dark magical being. Not every pony is going to have the same attitude as you and the rest of our family. They won’t accept me being an alicorn or being a princess like Cadence for that matter...they’re going to hate me.” Twilight said, she stood up and started to walk away she picked up the book she was reading as she did.

“Twilight!” Sunset shouted, Twilight looked back and saw the angry expression on Sunset’s face. She’d seen that look before too, it meant Sunset was about to do something that she probably wouldn’t like. Then Sunset marched towards her with purpose, Twilight dropped her book and backed away nervously.

“Sunset, lets just take a deep breath and relax ok? Just relax and we can keep talking about this...” Twilight whimpered, Sunset finally stood in front of Twilight almost nose to nose with her.

“Sorry Twilight, its time for some tough love!” Sunset snapped, and then in red flash of magic the two mares disappeared from the castle study.

Instantly the two ponies moved to a new location, Twilight realizing this lost her temper and shouted at Sunset at the top of her lungs. “Sunset!!! What did I just tell you!?!” Twilight went to yell at her again but then suddenly she felt a small pony hug her followed by an all too familiar voice.

“Twilight! You came to visit!” Twilight looked to see Sweetie Belle hugging her a bright smile on her face as she looked up at the purple pony. Twilight glared back at Sunset for a second who simply smiled back at her, this was a cheap tactic she thought and now she couldn’t just leave not without upsetting Sweetie.

“Hi Sweetie Belle, sorry I haven’t come to visit you or Rarity. But…a few things have happened these past few days and I haven’t really been myself I guess.” Twilight said. Sweetie looked at Twilight a little puzzled by her words but then her face turned back to a smile, she gripped one of Twilight’s wings and stretched it out to look at it better.

“Oh my stars! Spike was right! You are an alicorn now! Does this mean you’re real princess too?” she eagerly asked. Twilight went to answer but then bit her lip, unsure what to say. Luckily Sweetie spoke up again before she could answer, “Hold on, I’ll go get Rarity! She’s gonna be so excited to see you too!” Sweetie rushed out of the room and into the back, Twilight turned back to Sunset who still sat smiling at her.

“Trust me, by the time this is over you’ll be thanking me Twi.” she said. A moment later Sweetie returned Rarity following her,

“Twilight, Sunset, its so good to see you. I wished you’d have let me know you were stopping by though, my shop is just an absolute mess right now...” Rarity said as she finished hugging her friends.

“Hi Rarity, sorry about that. This was kind of a spur of the moment thing really. I thought Twilight needed some cheering up and being with a friend or two seemed like the best idea.” Sunset explained to Rarity. She smiled back and waved for them to follow,

“Well I certainly don’t mind darling, but let’s continue this in the kitchen. We can sit and I can put on pot of tea and some cakes while we talk.” They all walked into the kitchen and sat around the table there, Rarity putting on a pot of tea while Sweetie sat next to Twilight all the while Sweetie was looking at Twilight’s new wings.

“So what’s it like having wings now? Have you flown over Canterlot yet? Come on, tell me Twilight!” Sweetie eagerly asked. Twilight blushed a little bit from Sweetie’s questions, she was a little embarrassed but also happy to see Sweetie was so excited over her having wings.

“Actually, I haven’t really tried flying yet...only thing I’ve done with them so far is Cadence taught me how to properly preen them. It’s a little bit of a hassle, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.” she said. Sweetie was a little puzzled by Twilight’s words,

“How come you haven’t tried flying yet? Are you scared of heights or something?” she asked, Rarity brought the teapot and a tray with snacks over to the table and began to pour them all cups of tea.

“No Sweetie, I’m not afraid of heights...its just, I don’t really want them. They way I got them, I don’t feel I deserve them. Cadence got her horn and became an alicorn because she showed how compassionate and loving a pony she was. She did something amazing to get the way she is now, but me...I just screwed up. I didn’t earn my wings at all...” Twilight said her eyes lowering with the sad look on her face.

“What are you talking about Twilight” Sweetie spoke up, every pony suddenly looking at her with a surprised look.

“Of course you deserve to be a princess! Spike and Cadence are always talking about your thinking of other ponies first! You always jump in to help your friends, not to mention you love your family so much right?” Twilight was a little surprised by how adamant Sweetie sounded about this,

“Oh she’s absolutely right darling, you saved Princess Luna from being Nightmare Moon, you fought off Discord, and you risked everything to save me from that dreadful Nightmare creature. Of course you deserve to be an alicorn, I can’t think of any pony more deserving than you.” Rarity added.

“But that’s the thing, I let Nightmare possess me and look at all the damage he made me do! Every pony is scared of me now, and these are a reminder of that now.” Twilight said in response.

Sweetie reached over and put her hoof on Twilight’s, “Every pony makes mistakes Twilight...” Sunset reached over and put her hoof on Twilight’s back,

“She’s right Twi, its true. You did screw up, badly. But what matters is that you’re trying to make things right, you want every pony to like you again right? You just need to make the effort now, and shutting yourself up in the castle isn’t exactly helping with that.” Sunset said. Twilight looked around the room at the other mares with her she wanted to tell them they were wrong but she couldn’t. Deep down she knew they were right,

“Well, I’m gonna need help doing it. As much as I want to I can’t convince every pony that I’m the same old Twilight on my own right?” Twilight replied,

“I’ll help! Spike probably will too! And if he doesn’t then I’ll make him help.” Sweetie said with a smile.

“Now don’t you worry about a thing Twilight, with all of us helping you will make all of Equestria see how great it is that they have a brand new princess within the House of Sun. Oh! My goodness I need to start thinking about the dresses you’ll have to wear to help your image with this. Sweetie stay here I need to go get my sketchbook.” Rarity said as she went to leave, Sweetie started to talk to Twilight and Sunset but then suddenly they heard Rarity stumble. They all looked to see her holding herself up against the kitchen counter, her free hoof on the side of her head. They all got up to check on her, Sweetie standing beside her and putting her hoof on her side.

“Rarity? Are you okay?” she asked, Rarity looked back at Sweetie and smiled,

“Oh yes, I’m fine Sweetie. I just tripped...but, now that you mention it I think I’m getting a headache...” Rarity answered. Sunset walked up to Rarity but then paused when she saw something unusual, a single black spot on the back of Rarity’s neck. Sunset wondered if that was always there, but then she saw another on Rarity’s shoulder, before she could ask she then saw one appear on her back then a small patch of white appearing on her mane. Sunset’s eyes grew in horror as she started to realize what was happening and she tried to warn Twilight.

“Sweetie Belle! Get over here now!” Sunset shouted, Sweetie looked at Sunset confused as Rarity’s face became more pained. Then black smoke began to rise from the corners of her eyes, Twilight gasped and Sunset instinctively used her magic to pull Sweetie back to her and Twilight for safety. Then Rarity suddenly shrieked in pain an explosion of dark magics erupting from her body and throwing the kitchen into disarray, Twilight raised a barrier around all three of them shielding them from everything now being thrown around the kitchen like they were in the center of a tornado. Twilight looked back at Rarity calling out to her and when she looked at her friend she gasped when she saw a pair of emerald green eyes glaring back at her, Rarity had returned to her nightmare form! Twilight gasped in shock and Rarity simply shouted over the magics wreaking havoc in the kitchen.

“This isn’t over Twilight! Not by a long shot!!!” then in an instant she vanished into the shadows around her. A second later everything in the kitchen was still again, Sunset and Twilight were breathing heavy in shock of what just happened.

“Twilight...that, was that him!? How? How’s he still alive? And now he has Rarity again!” Sunset said, Twilight didn’t know what to say she was just as shocked as Sunset.

“I don’t know! I really don’t know! I was sure Aunt Luna and I destroyed him! But you saw..." Twilight was interrupted by something that broke both hers and Sunset's hearts.

“RARITY!! Rarity! Where’d you go? Rarity?!” They looked and saw Sweetie Belle frantically searching the shop for her sister, she stopped in front of Twilight and Sunset her eyes tearing up.

“Twilight...where? Where’s my sister? Where did Rarity go?” she cried, Twilight was speechless she had no words, no explanation. Then as Sweetie began to cry Sunset walked over and hugged her tight as she could, Sweetie Belle crying into her stomach as she did. No pony expected this, Nightmare was still alive, and now he had Rarity as his host again...

Author's Note

And that concludes the Nightmare Arc, hope everyone enjoyed that bit of a twist ending there. :duck: I'm genuinely excited to see the comments for this chapter, and as much as I liked Rarity I did want to fix the fact I rushed through her Nightmare form so quickly. Now she's going to be running around Equestria. Next few chapters should be a little less dramatic, mostly to help things wind down before I get to the Vacation arc. :pinkiehappy: Anyway hope everyone is doing alright out there with all the crazy happening right now. I'll try and update the next chapter as soon as I can, in the meantime leave me some comments and maybe throw up a like or two. :yay:

Separated

“I see...so that’s what happened...” Celestia said, the entire House of Sun sat in the study. Twilight and Sunset having just finished explaining what had happened with Rarity a short while ago.

“Is there anyway that we could find her maybe? Track down Nightmare before he does anything dangerous? I hate knowing one of my friends is missing like this.” Twilight asked. Luna shook her head though,

“I’m sorry Twilight, we’d at least have to know where to start looking before we attempted to locate your friend Rarity. Nightmare could’ve taken her anywhere in Equestria or beyond our lands borders for all we know.” Luna explained.

A hush fell over the room for a moment before Spike spoke up, “What about Sweetie Belle? What’s gonna happen to her?” Celestia walked over and put her hoof on Spike’s shoulder,

“I’ll send word to her parents in Ponyville, I’m afraid she’ll have to go back home until this is over Spike.” Celestia replied. Spike was devastated by this being Celestia’s answer, he and Sweetie had grown really close and he didn’t want to see her leave even if he understood why.

“Okay...can, I be there when you tell her though?” he asked, Celestia nodded in agreement of course.

“Well, Sunset and I are gonna try and figure out a way to find Nightmare. Maybe there’s something in the restricted section that will give us a clue as to where he went.” Twilight said, Sunset nodded in agreement. A moment later every pony left the room to go about their day, Celestia and Spike walking together as they all left.

"Does...Does Sweetie Belle really have to go back to Ponyville? I mean, I know Rarity was taking care of her but..." Spike asked as they walked. Celestia looked to see Spike was having trouble looking at her as he asked.

"I'm sorry Spike, I know you two have grown quite close and I wish it didn't have to be this way. But Sweetie Belle has family besides Rarity, and its best that she be with them right now. She needs all the love she can get to help her get through what's happening right now." Celestia explained.

"I know, but I really don't like it...Would it really be so wrong for her to stay though? I'd visit her every day, I'd keep her happy, she wouldn't be lonely I promise." Spike said.

Celestia stopped walking and looked down at Spike with a smile, "I know you'd do everything to keep her happy Spike, but that's not the real problem here. Sweetie's still a foal, she can't take care of herself on her own just yet that's why she was staying with Rarity in the first place. That's why she needs to go back home, her parents need to take care of her since her sister can't." Spike looked at the ground upset, he didn't like what his mother was telling him but he also knew she was right. The two started walking and finally reached the guest room where Sweetie Belle was at.

Spike and Celestia entered the guest room where Sweetie was at, she sat on the edge of the bed facing away from them. Her face was a mess she had obviously been crying for some time, Celestia sat next to her and picked up a tissue from a nearby box and wiped Sweetie’s face cleaning her up. Spike sat opposite of Celestia and held her hoof trying to cheer her up.

“I’m so sorry this had to happen to you Sweetie Belle. If there was something I could do to fix this I would do it in a heartbeat, you know that right?” Celestia asked, Sweetie gave a silent nod.

“I’m going to write to your parents later and have them come get you to take you back to Ponyville alright?” Celestia continued, Sweetie lifted her head up and instantly replied to Celestia.

“NO!” This surprised her and Spike to hear her suddenly say this, “I don’t wanna go back home! I want to be here when Rarity gets back! She’s my sister! She’s gonna come home!” she shouted at Celestia.

“Sweetie Belle, I promise we’ll do everything we can to get Rarity back, but you can’t stay at her home by yourself either you’re just a foal right now. Who would take care of you?” Celestia replied,

Sweetie stood up and faced Celestia still talking to her. “Then I’ll stay here! At the castle with Twilight and Cadence...and Spike too! They can take care of me until Rarity comes back!” Celestia was a little surprised by Sweetie’s determination to stay and wait for Rarity but she also knew that she had to send her home to her parents.

“Sweetie Belle, its not that simple, and you can't just...” Celestia tried to explain but Sweetie interrupted her again her face showing she was trying not to cry again now.

“She’s my sister! I hate that she’s not here right now! Don’t you understand how much that hurts Princess?” Celestia went silent when she heard Sweetie’s words, she immediately thought of Luna, Nightmare Moon, and the thousand years that she was gone. Celestia bit her lip realizing how much Sweetie loved her sister, and sending her home like this would be so wrong now she thought. Celestia reached over and hugged Sweetie Belle tight,

“Oh Sweetie...I do actually, I really do understand, more than you could possibly know. I lost Luna for so long, and it ate away at me for centuries. I'm sorry for not realizing that sooner...you can stay here. Right in this room, I’ll take care of you until Rarity comes home I promise.” she said. Spike stood up a smile on his face,

“Really? Sweetie can stay here in the castle?” he asked, Celestia nodded.

“Yes Spike, I know its going to be hard for a while Sweetie, but we'll make this right somehow...I’ll send a message to your parents first chance alright?” Sweetie hugged Celestia back smiling as she did,

“Thank you so much Princess, I promise I won’t get into any trouble! I mean it. I'll be on my best behavior like Rarity always tells me!” Celestia gently let go of Sweetie and stepped off the bed, she looked at Spike and Sweetie with a smile,

“I know you won’t, but I am glad that you made a promise to behave. Spike would mind helping me send that letter? Your dragon fire makes for a faster delivery than simply mailing it.” she asked, Spike eagerly nodded and climbed down off the bed and followed Celestia as she left the room.

Elsewhere in a flash of shadow Rarity fell to the ground exhausted, she struggled to stand a bead of sweat running down her face.

“Curse you Twilight!! I’m nowhere near as strong as I was when I first possessed this one!! I’ll be lucky if I’m even at half my full strength like this! It’s all because of those stupid elements of harmony!!! I’ll find them, I’ll smash them to pieces, and I’ll search every corner of Equestria for whatever dark powers I can use to have my revenge!!!” she shouted. Nightmare began to walk into the forest ahead of her when suddenly she heard a boom like thunder and turned to see a large yellow portal open in the air. A huge looming dark figure emerged revealing itself as a large blue ram who stood taller than her. She stood staring back unsure what to think of this new creature before her.

“Who are you?” she snapped, he simply chuckled and answered with a grin.

“I am Grogar...one who would have your allegiance...” Nightmare’s eyes widened in shock,

“THE Grogar? I...I thought you were dead?! Died battling Starswirl and the pillars after your bell was stolen from you?!” he stuttered. Grogar snorted at his words almost unimpressed,

“I allowed them to believe I was beaten, I spent the next few centuries resting and recovering my full strength waiting for an opportunity to rise again. Waiting to rebuild my empire, but in my absence the world has gained powerful forces that would oppose me. That is why I now require allies...” he said.

Nightmare could easily tell where Grogar was going with this conversation, she turned to face him and asked. “So you want me? And what exactly would I get out of allying with you?” Grogar took step towards Nightmare who leaned back a little afraid.

Grogar then smiled and simply said one word. “Revenge...” Grogar then turned and walked towards the portal still open behind him, “Whether you wish to join is entirely up to you, but know that Twilight and the House of Sun are now actively hunting for you. How long do you suppose you will last on your own? Your power is diminished and you have no allies to call upon...the choice is yours to make of course.” Grogar entered the portal and vanished from sight, Nightmare stood looking at the portal her thoughts racing about what Grogar had just told her. He was absolutely right though, he was weakened now, no allies, and no place to hide from his enemies. But Grogar was powerful and had remained hidden for centuries and if there was even a slight chance he could help him get revenge then why not take it? Nightmare raised his head and followed through the portal, the magic making it close with another thunderous boom behind him.

Author's Note

:pinkiehappy: Sry this took so long and that it was a little on the short side compared to the last few chapters. It honestly felt alot longer when I was writing it, anyway this was a nice chapter to help ease things down after the last few intense chapters. Hope everyone likes it, I'll try and get the next update up soon. I'm thinking the next chapter will be Spike finally inviting Sweetie to Ogres and Oubliettes with them :unsuresweetie: , that I want to do a few chapters with Discord again. Anyways you know the drill, give me some comments and maybe a like or two. :twilightsmile:

Making Sweetie smile

Spike slowly opened the door to the guest, he peered around the door to see Sweetie lying on the bed a sad look still on her face. She’d been like this for two whole days now and Spike was trying to think of someone way he could cheer her up. He cleared his throat trying to get her attention, Sweetie looked up when she heard him of course.

“Oh! Spike, is there something you needed?” she asked. Spike walked into the room a smile on his face,

“Well, I was gonna go get some ice cream actually. I thought maybe you’d want to come with me and get some too? He asked her. Sweetie thought for a moment then hopped down from the bed and walked over to him.

“Sure, I’d love to get some. I think I might be spending too much time in this room anyway...” Sweetie answered. It was true, Sweetie had come down for breakfast the past few mornings but the majority of her time she spent in this guest room sulking. Spike wasn’t going to tell her that though, his goal was to try and make her feel better not worse. Spike opened the door for Sweetie and the two began to walk through the castle, as they did they came across Cadence who stopped and smiled at the sight of the two together.

“Oh, hi Sweetie, Spike. Where are you two off to?” she asked.

Spike smiled happily and answered, “Were just going to get some ice cream, I thought Sweetie could use a snack right now.” Cadence giggled from his response, seeing these two together and watching their relationship grow had become a hobby of sorts for her.

“Well...do you mind if I come? I could use a snack too and I was wondering if the three of us could maybe talk a little bit.” Cadence asked. Spike nodded in agreement looking at Sweetie who smiled back at Cadence.

The three sat at a table inside the ice cream parlor, Cadence holding the single scoop ice cream cone she ordered. While Spike and Sweetie had gotten sundaes, Sweetie ate hers with a bright smile the cool vanilla flavor of her sundae mixing perfectly with hot fudge drizzled on top.

“So Sweetie, are you doing anything else today?” Cadence asked. Sweetie took another spoonful of her ice cream before looking at Cadence an unsure expression on her face.

“No...not really...I haven’t been thinking about doing anything to tell you the truth.” she replied. Spike saw how sad Sweetie still was and he tried to think of something to cheer her up,

“Well the three of us can go to the bookstore after this, I wanted to see if they had the newest issue of Power ponies. Or we can go to the candy shoppe, what do you think Sweetie?” he asked eagerly. Sweetie sat silent for a moment, taking another spoonful from her ice cream,

“I’m not really in the mood...I think...maybe I’ll just go back to the castle instead.” she answered. The next few minutes were an uncomfortable silence as they sat and ate the rest of their ice cream. Once Sweetie finished she thanked Cadence and Spike and then left,

“Be careful going back to the castle, alright Sweetie?” Cadence said to her as she left. Cadence looked back at Spike and saw how he was bothered by Sweetie Belle missing Rarity so much.

“I’m sorry Spike, I know you're trying your best. But it’ll be a while before she’s better, you know that right?” Cadence said.

Spike nodded, “Yeah… I just wish there was something I could think of that we could do that would make her feel better you know? Something that got all of us together to have fun.” he said slumping forward against the table. Cadence’s face suddenly lit up with a smile though as she shook Spike’s arm and said with a smile.

“What about our game night!? It’s tonight isn’t it? Why don’t we invite her along? I know Sweetie will have lots of fun with that don’t you think Spike?” Cadence asked. Spike sprang up from his seat with a smile and eagerly agreed.

“Hey yeah! I was gonna invite her before, but this might the best chance to have her join! Do you think she’ll like it though?” he said.

“Oh come on, game night is always fun. And Discord certainly keeps things interesting every time we play. Come on, let’s go talk to Shiny and get things started alright?” Cadence said as she stood up and waved for Spike to follow her. Spike hopped out of his chair and the two excitedly rushed to back to the castle.

Much later Sweetie walked into the study with Spike, who had an excited smile on his face.

“So how exactly do you play this game anyway Spike?” she asked as they entered Spike closing the doors behind them.

“Oh don’t worry about that, you really just have to play it all by ear. But don’t worry Shining and Cadence are playing too so you’ll have plenty of ponies to help you out.” he reassured her. Sweetie Belle walked up to the two older ponies and then looked around the study, she was a little confused though. It looked the same as it always did, no games, no snacks, nothing was different at all.

“I don’t get it, where’s the stuff we use to play?” she asked. Cadence smiled at Shining and gave him an excited nudge, he looked down at Spike as he walked up to Sweetie.

“Well Spike, you want to do the honors today?” he asked.

Spike nodded and then held his hands to his mouth and announced, “Captain What! We summon you here to search for treasure and adventure on this night of games!” In a sudden white flash everything in the study had changed to resemble a forest made of cardboard and paper cut outs. Discord appearing in his Ogres and Oubliettes attire, Sweetie ducked behind Spike a little nervous by his sudden appearance.

“Huzzah my fellow adventurers! I, the great Captain What have appeared to aid you in this night of adventure and...oh, who is that?” Discord said as his attention shifted pointing to Sweetie Belle. Every creature except Sweetie was now in costume, toy weapons and all, save for Sweetie of course. Spike took a step to the side and introduced the two,

“This is Sweetie Belle, we wanted her to play with us tonight. Plus you said you wanted more ponies in our party remember?” Spike said. Discord crossed his arms looking down at her,

“I did, but we are sure she wants to play? She doesn’t look very enthusiastic about this...” Discord replied.

“Oh come on Discord, think about how much more fun this will be with Sweetie Belle playing along side us?” Cadence said.

“And besides we’ll need another pony if we want to raid the diamond mines of Gaigax.” Shining added.

The mention of these mines brought a smile to Discord’s face as he looked at Sweetie Belle and replied. “Very well, but what class should she play? A thief maybe?” with a snap of his fingers Sweetie was suddenly dressed in dark leather armor a toy knife on her belt.

She was confused about what just happened but before she could ask Cadence spoke up, “No...I don’t that’s right for her.”

Discord snapped his fingers again Sweetie’s outfit changing to a set of robes, a wooden staff in her hoof, a toy squirrel on her head and rubber duck on her back. “What about a druid then?”

Sweetie looked at the others more confused then ever, “A what?” she asked.

Spike shook his head, “No, that doesn’t seem right either.”

After a brief silence Discord smiled, “Oh! I know, just what the party needs!” he said, snapping his fingers. Sweetie was now wearing black robes, and a black steel crown, a sword on her hip.

“A warlock! That’s perfect!” Discord added.

“No! No, on so many levels Discord...” Cadence shouted, Discord groaned and snapped his fingers again Sweetie returning to normal.

“Well then what? I’m all out of ideas...” he groaned.

Spike walked up to Sweetie and asked her, “What do you want to be Sweetie? A knight? A wizard? Maybe an Archer?” She sat nervously rubbing her leg,

“I don’t know...I’ve never done this before...” she sighed. Cadence walked up and sat down in front of her with a smile,

“Well what do you like to do Sweetie? Maybe we can figure out something from that?” Cadence asked.

Sweetie blushed a little embarrassed but then she smiled thinking of an idea. “I like to sing sometimes...does that help?” she said. Discord’s face lit up with a smile and before any creature could say anything he snapped his fingers, Sweetie now dressed in colorful performers clothes and lute across her back.

“A Bard! Oh I can’t tell you how much I wanted us to have one of those in the party...” he said with a smile. Sweetie looked over her costume a little confused and picked up the lute from her back.

“What’s a bard do?” she asked.

“Bard’s use song and magic to to support the rest of the party, its a good role for you since your just starting out. All you have to do is stay close to Spike and play songs for us while were fighting. Easy right?” Shining added. Sweetie smiled a little bit and then stood up looking at every creature around her.

“Okay! I can do that, so when do we start playing?” she asked. Discord suddenly appeared behind her and Spike picking them both up with a hug,

“Oh I’d thought you’d never ask! We make for the mines of Gaigax at once!!!”

Author's Note

Oh lord I can't believe how long I dragged my a$$ getting this update done. It felt I'd only posted the last chapter two weeks ago maybe a little longer, but then I see its almost been a whole month! Sorry about, my need to play games obviously got the better of me again. On the plus side this does help start off the mini arc involving Sweetie's first time in Ogres and Oubliettes. So here's hoping everyone enjoys the chapter and I'll try and get the next update for this and my other stories up as soon as I'm able to. Leave me some comments of what you think. And stay safe out there everyone!

Into the Mines

Spike and the rest of his party walked through the cardboard and paper forest Discord naturally taking the lead.

“Oh this is going to be so much fun! Just on the other side on yonder hills lies the great diamond mines of Gaigax! Taken from the capital’s control years ago by goblins and ogres! But soon we’ll raid the mines, defeat the foul creatures within and take the treasure horde all for ourselves! Am I right my fellow adventurers?” Discord announced.

“Yes! Fame and fortune await us all upon completing this grand quest! Let us make haste at once!” Cadence added as she trot alongside Shining,

Sweetie watched how every pony was behaving and walked up to Spike and whispered to him. “Is it always like this?” Spike looked at her with a bright smile and nodded,

“Oh yeah, its great! It’ll get to be a lot more fun once we encounter some monsters. But don’t worry, no pony ever gets hurt during these.” he answered.

“There are monsters? I’m not so sure about this, it sounds a little scary Spike.” Sweetie said looking a little concerned now.

Spike was quick to reassure her though, “Don’t worry, as long as we stay back all we’ll have to do is just cast magic while the others fight. It’ll be fine, you’ll see Sweetie.” The group continued to walk for a few minutes more when suddenly a group of cardboard cutouts with goblins drawn on them sprang out from behind the cardboard trees and bushes around them making growling and snarling noises as they did,

Discord drew his bow and announced with a smile. “Onward to battle!” Shining leaped in front of Discord who shot suction cup arrow after arrow at the cardboard goblins. Shining drew his ax and began to cut them down with an excited grin, Cadence giggled with excitement and walked over to Sweetie as Spike rushed ahead and began to cast spells. His staff shooting harmless magic blasts that helped destroyed the goblin menace.

“What’re we supposed to do?” Sweetie asked as she tried to hide behind Cadence,

“I’m the party healer, I’ll keep them healthy if the they start to get overrun. But you can help now Sweetie, go on! Sing a song and use your magic to help them out!” Cadence said. Sweetie watched as the three boys fought off the goblins she ducked behind Cadence some more and pulled her hat down over her face.

“I...I don’t wanna...they’re fine without me...” she replied. Discord fired one last arrow defeating the last of the goblins, Spike and Shining walking over to Discord and celebrating happily.

“VICTORY!” Discord shouted, they all turned to Cadence as she rushed over and hugged Shining giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“You did great! I didn’t even need to heal any of you this time!” she said.

Spike looked to see Sweetie was still hanging back a sad look on her face as she fixed her hat, he walked over to her and asked. “Are you okay Sweetie? It’s okay if your a little nervous, first time playing can get a little overwhelming I guess.” Sweetie shook her head and stood up,

“I don’t know if this is for me...I think I should I go...I don’t feel like I’ll be much help here.” she replied,

Sweetie went to turn to leave but was quickly interrupted by Discord. “Oh I’m sorry, but Spike must have forgotten to mention. No pony gets to leave until the adventure is over, I always like to set it up that way so we get the most out of our adventures. Plus this way we don’t have to worry about Celestia interrupting us we with some boring chore or whatever for Spike or Shining.” Sweetie looked at Spike then back at Discord,

“You mean I’m stuck in here until were done?” she shouted. She let out an annoyed groan and crossed her front legs annoyed, Spike tried to cheer her up again.

“Hey, its fine. Just keep at it and you’ll start to have fun I promise! We do this every week and it never gets boring.” he explained. Spike could tell Sweetie was a little annoyed by how this had turned out but she stood up looking at every creature with her.

“Alright...I guess I can give it another try...” she answered, Sweetie’s answer had them all cheer happily and continue on. The party trot through the cardboard forest together eventually making their way to a large cavern entrance, above which was a poorly written sign reading “Diemund Myne”. Discord seemed to get excited at the sight of the entrance and turned to the others with a smile,

“Oh this is so exciting, don’t you think? We’re finally going to do the diamond mines! Now if only we had more ponies playing with us...we might try for the crown of Mount Fiery doom next.” he said, Shining looked at Discord a look of surprise on his face.

“Mount Fiery doom? We’d need at least four more players for that, and where are we gonna find more ponies who’d want to play at that?” Shining replied, Discord leaned against Shining wrapping his arm around him with a smile.

“Oh we’ll work out the details later, meanwhile lets go into these mines and see what kind of treasure awaits us all!” Discord answered with a sly grin. The group entered the mines together cautiously, after a short distance it began to get too dark for them to see and Cadence eagerly cast a light spell the end of her staff glowing brightly and illuminating their surroundings. Spike also grabbed a nearby torch and used his fire breath to light it helping to create more light for them to see. They walked close together Sweetie staying behind Spike as they walked,

“Be cautious friends, the mines haven’t been safe in years...who knows what threats lurk in the darkness of these old tunnels...” Discord teased leaning towards the rest of the party as he did. Sweetie was getting nervous and Discord’s words weren’t exactly helping the situation either,

“You said no one ever gets hurt during these right? You weren’t lying, were you Spike?” she asked.

Spike shook his head, “Of course not, I promise as long as we stick together everything will turn just fine...” he said, then almost as if on cue the floor beneath Spike and Sweetie suddenly gave way the two falling and getting separated from the others. Cadence and Shining rushed to the hole in the floor and looked down in a small panic.

“SPIKE!!! SWEETIE!!! Can you hear me?!” Cadence shouted, she turned back to face Discord and angrily asked him. “You didn’t mention traps when we started this one, they’re gonna be alright aren’t they?” Discord looked at Cadence almost a little offended by her question,

“Just because there’s one little pitfall in this adventure doesn’t mean any pony is going to get hurt. I’ve never once put anything that dangerous into these things.” he answered. Shining immediately cleared his throat angrily Discord looking down to see the annoyed look he was giving him. “Alright there was the first time I did this that it was dangerous, but in my defense I was pretty annoyed with you and Spike at the time.” he answered. Cadence then let out an annoyed groan before looking up at the two and walking ahead of them a bit,

“Well then let’s hurry up and find a way down to them, I don’t like leaving the two of them alone even if it is safe.” she said.

Spike and Sweetie fell down the pitfall Spike landing first with a thud a second later Sweetie falling on top of him. The two groaned before standing up and looking around their surroundings, the tunnel they were in was dark but dimly lit with glowing jewels and diamonds all along the walls.

“Oh wow, look how pretty they all are. Rarity would love to see this! I bet she’d grab as many gems as she could and...” Sweetie trailed off though the look on her face turning to a sad one as she sat down and leaned against the wall. Spike walked over sat next to her pulling her close for a hug as he did.

“I’m sorry Sweetie, I really am. I know you must miss Rarity a lot, but I promise Twilight and the others are trying their best to find her. And when we do get her back we’ll have a great big party to celebrate it afterwards!” he said trying to make her feel better. Sweetie looked at Spike and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before smiling at him,

“Thanks Spike, I really do miss her...I used to do everything with Rarity, she was such a fun sister. She wasn’t active as Applebloom’s big sister but she knew how to have fun in her own way. It’s just sometimes it gets hard not trying to think about her, you know?” Sweetie said. Spike sat beside her though and nodded,

“I understand, but I also think she wouldn’t want you to let this bring you down either. She’d want you stay happy at least, and we’re all trying our best to help you too. But, I don’t want to force it on you either, I understand if you only play this one time.” he said. Sweetie could see how Spike was trying his best to make her feel better and she only realized that she was so hung up on her own feelings that she never gave this game a real chance. She stood holding out her hoof and offering to help Spike up with a bright smile.

“Well maybe I just need to give it another, another try then. Come on, there’s supposed to be treasure in here right? Let’s find the treasure, then we can find Cadence and the others.” Spike smiled taking Sweetie’s hoof and standing up eager to start exploring with her. The two walked down the tunnel, Sweetie pulling a few of the glowing gems off the wall and using them for a light source as they walked.

“I wonder how deep this tunnel goes, you think the others are this way?” Spike asked, Sweetie shrugged her shoulders unsure what to say. As the two walked Spike suddenly felt a small stone shift beneath his foot, the sound of a stone slab moving behind them caught their attention. They looked back to see a panel opening on the ceiling, an ominous green glow from inside then slowly a massive green jelly like block fell from the opening barring their path back.

“What is that?” Sweetie asked, in a panic Spike shouted and pointed.

“A Gelatinous cube!!! RUN!!!” Sweetie didn’t question Spike the two turning and running down the hall, the cube slowly giving chase behind.

“How do we stop it? Can we stop it?” Sweetie shouted as they ran, Spike thought in a panic.

“I could try to cast an ice spell, but I don’t think I can cast one big enough to stop it!” he explained.

“But you can try right?” Sweetie replied, Spike nodded and the two stopped turning to face the cube as it moved towards them.

Spike held up his staff and pointed it at the cube announcing. “Ice blast!!!” A burst of icy magics shot out from his staff and struck the cube, but only froze one side of it and a moment later it started to melt.

“Okay that wasn’t enough...KEEP RUNNING!!” Spike shouted, immediately the two began to run again the cube slowly closing in on them. The two had a good lead on the cube but it never relented in chasing them, as they turned a corner they suddenly found themselves at a dead end. They turned to see the cube coming closer, they held each other and shrieked in fear.

“What’re we gonna do now!?” Sweetie shouted, Spike looked around and couldn’t find any way out. It almost seemed like they were done for, then he looked at Sweetie.

“Sweetie! You’ve gotta sing! You’re a bard, if you can use your magic to make mine stronger maybe I can stop it!” he said. Sweetie grabbed the lute from her back and was about to start but then paused.

“I don’t know Spike...I’m not sure I can do this.” she said, the cube was getting closer and closer. Spike looked at Sweetie with a smile and held her hoof.

“You can do this Sweetie! I know you can, I’ll be right here rooting you on!” he said with a smile. Sweetie Belle smiled back at Spike and then with a new found look of confidence she began to play the lute in her hooves. She’d never played a lute before but because of Discord’s magic it just naturally came to her, she plucked the strings and the music flowed through the tunnels as Sweetie began to sing.

“Toss a bit to your wizard, his spells will save the day! Toss a bit to your wizard, his magics will help pave the way!” As Sweetie sang Spike could feel her bardic magic flowing into him and making him stronger, a lot stronger than he expected in fact.

He took a few steps in front of Sweetie and held his staff high a ball of fire appearing on the end of it and shouted, “FIREBALL!!!” he thrust his staff at the Gelatinous cube and with a mighty boom and thunderous shaking of the tunnel it exploded, engulfing and incinerating the cube. The tunnel quickly filled with smoke, the two coughing trying to catch their breath, familiar voices caught their attention though,

“What the hay was that?”

“Discord! You didn’t say there would be earthquakes!”

“Why does every pony assume when things go wrong, that its my fault?”

“I don’t know, maybe its your track record for causing chaos?”

“Okay, that’s actually a fair assumption then.”

Spike and Sweetie waited a moment for the smoke to clear and then ran over to the newly made hole in the wall and found the others standing there arguing with one another.

“Guys!!! We found you!” Spike shouted, Cadence’s face lit up with a smile and rushed over and hugged the two happily.

“Oh, I’m so glad your both okay! I was worried when you fell down that pitfall!” Cadence said. Sweetie and Spike took a step back smiling at them,

“We also defeated a giant jelly block! It was amazing!!!” Sweetie announced,

Spike chuckled and then clarified, “Actually it was a gelatinous cube.” Shining looked at them a little surprised,

“By yourselves? Wow, that was impressive.” he said.

“That’s not all they found, look! The diamond cache!” Discord announced pointing at all the glowing gems along the walls. Shining and Cadence both smiled as they looked up at the treasure trove of gems before them.

“We did it!!! We conquered the mines!!!” Cadence shouted as she danced in place happily. The sound of fanfare filled the area a cloud of confetti falling from nowhere and all around them, then in a bright flash they found themselves back in the study and out of costume.

“That was a lot of fun! Sure, it got a little scary for a moment but I wanna do it again!” Sweetie shouted, Spike smiled back excitedly happy to see Sweetie smiling.

“Well come on, I’ve got some O & O books we can go over! You can learn more about a bard and we can pick our next adventure!” he replied. Sweetie nodded and the two happily rushed out of the room.

“Hey! I want to pick the next adventure!” Cadence shouted chasing after the two. Shining found himself standing alone with Discord,

“It’s great to see Sweetie Belle smiling again, and I always enjoy seeing my little brother getting closer to his girlfriend. It was a nice turn of events that only those two got caught in the pitfall, huh Discord?” Shining said with a smile.

“Oh I agree, its almost as if some creature planned this out in fact. Don’t you think?” Discord replied. Shining’s eyes widened in surprise hearing Discord’s words, he turned to say something but before he could Discord interrupted. “Oh would look at the time? I’m late for dinner, until next time Shining!” then with a snap of his fingers Discord disappeared.

Shining stood quiet in the study for a moment but then rolled his eyes, “I cannot believe that guy...he could’ve let me in on the plan you know...”

Author's Note

Sorry that my updates have been slow lately, first I had writer's block trying to write his chapter, then I had zero motivation, and lastly my job kept leaving me exhausted :ajsleepy: . But after watching some MLP and also Pony life (Yes, I like it :pinkiegasp: ) I finally got around to finishing this chapter up. If it feels a little half @$$ed at any point at least you'll know why. I did drop a reference to "Onward" in here for laughs, even made Sweetie's song a reference to "the Witcher" on Netflix. :twilightsmile: But now that that's over with I've one more breather chapter planned before I get started on the vacation arc. Updates may be slow again, and I apologize if takes me a while to get the next one up. But I will try and get it done ASAP. Anyways, leave some comments and maybe a like or two. :yay:

Old fears

It was bright and beautiful Canterlot day, Twilight was walking through the castle alongside Sunset the two ponies discussing a spell book they’d been studying from the restricted section of the castle study. The two walked through the hall when a guard approached the two mares with a bit of urgency to his pace.

“Excuse Ms. Shimmer, Ms. Twilight, I don’t want to disturb the two of you but there’s a matter that needs your attention. Twilight and Sunset looked at one another and then Twilight answered with a smile,

“It’s no trouble at all, what do you need soldier?” she asked.

The guard nodded and was quick to explain, “There’s a messenger here with a letter that needs to be delivered, but its for Princess Celestia so only a member of the royal family is allowed to receive it.” Twilight nodded and looked at Sunset with a smile,

“That’s alright, Twilight and I can take care of this. Were both part of the Royal family so we can take the letter and give it to Princess Celestia.” Sunset said. The guard smiled happily at them and guided them to the room where the messenger was waiting. He saluted and opened the door and the two mares walked inside eager to help out. Twilight walked a few steps ahead of Sunset her head held high and eyes closed with a smile, this was a matter for the royal family so she had to try and look the part a little.

“Hello there I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s daughter and this is my cousin Sunset Shimmer. I was told that you had a letter for my mother, Princess Celestia.” she said confidently.

“Yes, I do! I came straight from Gryffonstone, though usually Princess Luna or Celestia receives these letters.” the messenger answered. Twilight’s heart practically stopped she opened her eyes and looked ahead to see a happy gray griffon girl standing in the center of the room a satchel with mail in it slung across her side.

“I’m Gabby by the way, it’s nice to meet others members of the royal family.” she said as she approached the two offering the scroll to the two. As Gabby got closer Twilight quickly retreated her breaths getting shorter and faster, Sunset turned and looked at Twilight and she noticed the look of fear in her eyes. Gabby was a little puzzled by Twilight’s reaction and tried to get closer though.

“Ms. Twilight? Is something wrong?” Gabby asked as she got closer. Bad memories began to rise to the surface of Twilight’s mind, the feeling of her hooves and mouth bound, the darkness of a closed room, the fear of never seeing her family again. Sunset tried to warn Gabby not to get closer but it was too late, once she was close enough to hand Twilight the letter the purple mare shrieked at the top of her lungs. Gabby stumbled back surprised by her reaction, Twilight backed up to the wall and clutched her head screaming at Gabby to stay away.

“What? What did I do? I’m sorry Twilight.” she muttered a second later the doors to the room on both sides burst open, on one end a trio of guards the other Celestia and Spike. Celestia looked around the room and the moment she saw Twilight and Gabby she pieced the situation together quickly,

“It’s alright, I can take care of this! Go back to your posts at once!” Celestia commanded the guards, Celestia rushed over and hugged Twilight tight to try and comfort her. Spike and Sunset taking Gabby out of the room and away from Twilight before things got worse. Celestia held Twilight tight and tried to comfort her, to make her calm down.

“Its okay now, its okay Twilight. No creature is going to hurt you I promise.” Celestia whispered to her. Twilight pressed her face into Celestia’s shoulder, she tried to compose herself but it wasn’t easy right now.

“I’m sorry...I...I know she wasn’t gonna do anything bad...but, I just remembered some bad things is all…” Twilight sobbed. Celestia held her close gently stroking the back of her head to soothe her.

“I know Twilight, I know. It’s not easy getting over bad memories, I know that believe me.” Celestia replied.

Sunset closed the doors behind her as they guided Gabby out of the room, she was so confused right now.

“I don’t understand, what did I do wrong? I wasn’t being mean I promise.” Gabby explained to Spike.

“I know that and so does Twilight, its just...she had a bad experience with some griffons when she was a filly. I guess she never really got over it, its not your fault Gabby.” he explained. Sunset walked over and stood next to Spike,

“You two know each other?” she asked. Spike nodded in response, he and Gabby both smiling after.

“Yeah, Mom’s been trying to build relations with some of the other creatures in Equestria. So she’s been sending letters to Gryffonstone, Gabby’s been the one bringing the letters back and forth. She spends time with me and Sweetie Belle a lot while she’s here.” Spike said. Sunset looked at Spike with a bit of a sly grin and couldn’t help but tease him,

“Sweetie doesn’t get jealous? Aren’t you a bold one Spike.” Spike gave Sunset a bit of angry scowl while Gabby tilted her head puzzled.

“Gabby’s my friend, and so is Sweetie. Don’t poke fun at us Sunset!” he snapped. Gabby reached into her mail bag and gave Sunset the scroll she was supposed to deliver, Sunset tucked it into her saddlebag.

“I’m really sorry I scared Twilight...Is there any way I can apologize to her? I don’t want her to be scared of me, or any griffons, were not all bad.” Gabby said. Sunset scratched the back of her head nervously in response to Gabby’s question,

“I don’t know Gabby, getting over something like this isn’t really easy. Back when it happened Twilight really shut down, I know that she doesn’t want you to think she hates you or anything but it might take some time to get over this fear of hers.” Sunset answered. Gabby nodded in response, she understood what Sunset was trying to tell her and she wasn’t about to try and press the matter further.

“Well then...I guess I’ll just wait outside this time. I don’t want to scare any pony more than I have, just let Princess Celestia know that I’m still in Canterlot for me okay Spike?” she asked with a bright smile. Spike nodded a moment later Gabby turned and left the castle to wait for the return letter she was to deliver.

Gabby sat in the castle courtyard, she was upset that Twilight was afraid of her now she only wanted to be friends but not if it meant scaring her. Gabby sat folding a piece of paper into a star shape, making little bits of origami as she waited for some pony to bring her Celestia’s letter.

“Hey Gabby, are you doing okay?” she turned to see Spike walk over and sit next to her.

“Oh yeah! I’m fine, I was just making paper stars while I waited for Celestia’s letter is all. Just trying to make time pass, you know?” she answered. Spike could tell that she was upset and he wanted to help Gabby but wasn’t sure how they could fix this.

“Do you wanna try talking to Twilight again? Maybe if I’m there it’ll make things better this time?” he asked. Gabby shook her head though as she kept folding pieces of paper from her bag into stars,

“I don’t think that’s gonna really help Spike, I wanna be friends but I don’t know how I can talk to her without scaring her.” Gabby replied. Spike sat and thought for a moment and then came up with an idea,

“What if you wrote letters to each other? That way you two can talk but not have to be close enough to scare her.” Spike said with a smile. Gabby thought for a moment,

“That’s not a bad idea, but it don’t think it’ll really stop her from being afraid of seeing me Spike. We need to think of something better than that...” Gabby answered. Spike sat and thought for a moment, he was racking his brain trying to think of a solution to this problem. Then he looked down and saw the paper stars Gabby was making on the ground and his lit up with a smile.

“That’s it! Gabby I’ve got an idea!”

About two hours had passed since Twilight last saw Gabby, she was sitting in the study reading as usual. She managed to calm down but she also felt bad about what had happened with Gabby earlier. As she read through the book in front of her suddenly a paper airplane floated into the room landing on the table in front of Twilight. She looked at it puzzled for a second, she picked it up and unfolded it to find a message was written on it.

“Hi Twilight! I’m sorry that I scared you earlier, I just wanted to be friends is all. I thought this might be a good way for us to talk. Is that okay?”

~Gabby~

Twilight looked around the room and saw the nearby open window, she walked over and looked outside. Across the way on the castle roof she could see Gabby and Spike watching anxiously the two of them waving back. Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled at the sight of the two of them, she walked away from the window a second later.

“Do you think it worked?” Gabby asked nervously, before Spike could answer Twilight came back to the window and threw a paper airplane of her own across the way back to Gabby and Spike.

“Hello Gabby, I’m sorry about how I reacted earlier. This was an interesting idea you had to talk to each other. Did Spike help you come up with it?”

~Twilight~

Gabby showed the message to Spike and squealed with delight,

“She wrote back! Your idea worked Spike!” Gabby picked Spike up hugging him happily and then set him back down.

“See? You two can do this to talk, and the more Twilight gets used to you the closer the two of you can talk to each other now. And maybe she’ll get used to every griffon she meets this way.” Spike said. Gabby wasn’t listening though already working on a reply to Twilight’s letter, she quickly folded it into a paper plane and threw to Twilight was waiting by the window now.

“This is so much fun! I’m so happy she’s answering me!” Gabby cheered.

Twilight unfolded Gabby’s next letter and read it over as she did she heard the door to the study open, she looked up to see Sunset walk into the room.

“Hey Twi, I just wanted to come and check up on you. Everything okay?” she asked. Twilight started to write her next reply to Gabby while answering Sunset,

“Yeah actually, Gabby and Spike came up with an interesting idea for us to talk in fact.” Twilight replied. Sunset walked over and watched as Twilight’s paper plane flew over to Gabby and Spike. “Oh, this is a good way for you two to talk. Look at you now, making friends left and right, who knows that might be your title one day. Princess of friendship, Twilight Sparkle.” Sunset teased. Twilight looked back at Sunset then the two laughed, a second later another paper plane flew over.

“I don’t think I need a title really, I’m just happy the way things are right now.” she answered. Twilight wrote a response to Gabby and then threw it back with a smile. Sunset gave Twilight a gentle nudge to get her attention,

“Hey, I was thinking...Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been working nonstop for as long as we known them. What do you say we talk to Cadence and Shining and get all of us together for a vacation?”

Author's Note

:yay: Finally got back to writing again, been gaming too much and I keep forgetting to update regularly. But I like to take solace in the fact you guys are all patient with me and I appreciate it alot. Felt like this was a good filler chapter, bring up Twilight's fear of griffons and come up with a cute way to help her fix it. And of course I had to keep Spike and Gabby's friendship intact, thought for the moment they're just friends. Anyways, gimme a like and maybe some comments. Next chapter will be the start of the vacation arc, updates may be slow but I can't for sure either. Depends on my job and how often I get dragged into playing games with my friends. :twilightsmile:

Vacation Away!

It was just after lunch time and every pony sat around the dining room table, Luna was still a little drowsy and drinking some tea to help her wake up from her night of dream walking.

“So what was it that you and Sunset wanted to talk to us about Twilight? You sure seemed excited about it.” Celestia asked. Twilight smiled and looked at Sunset before they handed a small vacation brochure over to the two princesses. Celestia held it up to read it, Luna leaning over to see,

“Costa Del Bronco, luxury vacation resort?” Celestia read aloud. Twilight sat up from her chair an eager smile on her face,

“That’s right! Sunset came up with the idea that we could all go on a vacation together! Just a whole week of us relaxing and no worries about Canterlot! What do you think?” she asked with a smile. Celestia looked at Luna but turned back to them with a somber expression,

“Twilight I appreciate that you and Sunset think this would be a good idea for all of us, but Luna and I have an entire country to run. We can’t just drop what we’re doing to go on vacation half way across Equestria for a week.” Celestia and Luna sat quiet expecting a sad reaction from Twilight and Sunset instead the two smiled and looked back.

“We’d knew you’d say something like that, that’s why we spent the last few days organizing and calling in a few favors to make this work.” Sunset said, Celestia and Luna looked back surprised.

“Wait, what?” Celsetia stuttered,

“We’ve talked to Kibitz, General Ironheart, Fancypants, and Fleur. All you’ll have to do while on vacation is raise the sun and moon each day.” Twilight explained.

“Wait, that only covers Celestia’s duties, I still have all my responsibilities to tend to as well.” Luna added.

Sunset was quick to counter though, “Actually, I’ve had Fleur set up bouquets of lavender around Canterlot as well as hand out a few buffalo dream catchers across Canterlot, it won’t stop bad dreams completely but it should keep things to a minimum while your on vacation. So we’ve got you covered too.” Celestia looked at the brochure in front of her and then Luna she was trying to explain why they couldn’t do this, something they might have overlooked but she knew Twilight too well. Twilight had everything covered and with Sunset’s help this vacation was going to happen regardless of their opinion.

“Come on Auntie, its only for a week. That’s a whole week you get to spend with us just having fun!” Cadence asked. Celestia bit her lip in frustration, but then she finally sighed and agreed.

“Alright, since you all insist. But if any emergencies pop up I need to get back to work understood?” Every pony at the table excitedly cheered hearing Celestia agree to go on a vacation with her family, Twilight and Sunset sprang out of their seats with bright smiles.

“I’ll go get our travel arrangements set!” Twilight said,

“And I will go make sure every pony knows what to do while were gone! Every pony else start packing!!!” Sunset replied. Every pony but Celestia and Luna soon left the dining room leaving the two sisters alone, Celestia let out a soft sigh but then she smiled.

“You know, it’s not a terrible idea Tia. We haven’t had a chance to relax in centuries. This could be fun.” Luna said, Celestia looked at her baby sister and she nodded in agreement.

The next morning everything was all set for the Princesses to take their much needed vacation, Celestia and Luna walked out to the rear courtyard wear their family was waiting as well as Sweetie Belle.

“Look it! Here they come!” Sweetie announced. They all turned to look and see Celestia and Luna approaching, they weren’t wearing their regalia as usual, their tails and manes braided up, as well as wearing colorful floral pattern shirts.

Sunset snickered at the sight of the two of them and asked, “Where did you get those shirts from?” Luna smiled at the question while Celestia rolled her eyes,

“It was Luna’s idea. She thought we should look the part since were going on vacation...” Celestia answered.

“And the giant camping backpacks?” Shining asked.

Luna nudged Celestia and answered, “They were Tia’s idea. She felt this was better than lugging around a dozen suitcases full of our things.”

Every pony let out a laugh at the moment, when they settled down Celestia looked around and asked. “So...how are we going to get there? Its a long trip to Costa Del Bronco isn’t it?” Twilight and Sunset took a step back each and held up their front hooves presenting the hot air balloon behind them. Celestia and Luna both looked up surprised by this,

“Oh, well...that’s unexpected. Why a hot air balloon though?” Luna asked.

“Well were taking three princesses, four alicorns, a dragon, and three unicorns on vacation. This felt like a nice subtle way to move without drawing attention. Plus it’ll give us time to talk while we travel.” Twilight explained. Celestia almost looked a little disappointed but Luna quickly changed the mood walking over and hopping into the basket beneath the balloon.

“I like it! It’s quiet and relaxing, which is exactly what I need on this vacation.” she said with a smile. Celestia walked over and set her things down in the basket before climbing in herself.

“Well, I suppose well have more exiting things to do once were there. So this should work for now I guess.” Celestia said. Every pony climbed into the basket, Shining helping Sweetie and Spike since they smaller and then finally decided to take flight and start their vacation. The balloon lifted into the air and soon they were high above Canterlot, Sweetie and Spike looked over the edge of the balloon looking down at the city as the moved.

“Wow, look how high up we are right now!” Sweetie announced, Twilight looked over the edge a little and got a little nervous before stepping back and sitting between Cadence and Celestia.

“Yeah, were...really high up. Wow, I forgot we’d be this high.” she said, Sweetie turned and looked at Twilight confused.

“You haven’t flown this high up before Twilight?” she asked, Twilight shook her head no her face blushing a little bit.

“Wait, Twi...you haven’t tried flying yet? You’ve had your wings for weeks now!” Sunset declared. Twilight covered her head embarrassed, Cadence putting her hoof on Twilight’s back to make her feel better.

“I just started to accept that I have them okay! That’s why I haven’t tried flying with them yet...” she replied. Every pony got quiet for a moment before Cadence spoke up,

“That’s okay Twilight, once your ready Auntie and I can show how to fly. It’s not as hard as most ponies think it is.” Cadence said, Twilight looked up and smiled back at Cadence happy to see she was willing to help her still. The next few hours every pony sat around talking and enjoying themselves, Spike and Sweetie sat next to Luna an open Ogres and Oubliettes book between them Luna taking an interest in the game. Shining, Celestia, and Twilight were playing cards while Sunset took a nap. Cadence was reading a romance novel but lifted her head up when she noticed something was amiss,

“Are we getting lower?” she asked. Every pony looked up and Twilight looked over the edge confirming they were losing altitude for some reason.

“That’s odd, we didn’t let any air out of the balloon.” she replied.

“One second, I’ll take a quick look.” Celestia said with a quick flap of her wings she flew a circle around the balloon and inspected it before coming back to hover next to the basket.

“Its got a small leak on the side, it won’t be crashing any time soon. But we won’t make it to our destination unless we land and patch it up first.” Celestia explained. Twilight nodded and they gently set the balloon down on the ground, every pony hopped out of the balloon and Twilight looked up at it trying to figure out what to do next.

“Maybe, there’s a town close by...with a repair pony that can help us.” Twilight whispered. Sweetie looked around eventually seeing the nearby road, she looked both directions and then at the sign in the middle of the street. A moment later her face lit up with excitement, Spike and Sunset walked over and Spike asked.

“What’s the matter Sweetie?” Sweetie Belle eagerly hugged Spike tight and pointed up to the street sign with a bright smile.

“I know where we are!!!” she shouted, Sunset and Spike looked up at the sign. The old wooden sign pointing to the right and reading “Apple Acres”.

Author's Note

Newest update done, its a small chapter I know. But its mostly to get things started before the next chapter. :pinkiehappy: Wanted to keep things quiet for the first few chapters of the vacation arc, that way when things get exciting it'll make for a good read. I did have trouble thinking how to approach this chapter but going back and reading some older comments did help give me a good idea where to go with it. :raritywink: So thanks for everyone who's been making comments since I started all this. Anyways, hope you enjoy the newest update. I'll try and update my other stories in the next day or two but no guarantees with how my schedule looks. :yay:

Welcome to Ponyville

Spike and Sweetie Belle walked ahead of all the others, Sweetie was more excited than usual.

“Are we sure it was okay to leave Auntie and Luna back with the balloon?” Cadence asked.

“Well, we needed some pony to watch our stuff while we went to look for help. Plus, they both admitted it might cause a lot of commotion if they just came walking into a random town we happen to come across.” Sunset replied. Shining and Twilight walked behind the others, as they walked Twilight would stretch her wings and look them over periodically.

“You thinking about what Sunset said? About never using them?” Shining asked her.

Twilight nodded before folding them at her sides, “A little bit, yeah. Maybe I’ll try learning how to use them once we get to the resort. I mean, what’s the worse that could happen right?” she replied.

“Hey! Keep up you two! Were almost there, I can see the front gates from here!” Sweetie shouted happily. Sweetie and Spike rushed ahead finally reaching the gates to Apple Acres, Spike looked around for a moment at the seemingly normal Farm and nearby apple orchard.

“So who lives here Sweetie? Are they your family? Or friends maybe?” he asked.

“This is where Applebloom and her family live, we went to Ms. Cheerliee’s school together before I moved to Canterlot with...well, you know.” Sweetie replied. Twilight and the others caught up and a moment later a voice called out to them.

“Sweetie Belle? Is that you?” they all turned to see an orange mare in an old brown hat puling a wagon full of barrels overflowing with different colored apples. Sweetie sprung up with excitement and rushed over to hug the older mare,

“Applejack! Its so great to see you! Is Applebloom home?” Sweetie asked. Applejack smiled and gently hugged Sweetie Belle back,

“I’m glad to see you too Sugarcube...um, your sister isn’t with you is she?” Sweetie Belle took a step back and shook her head,

“Rarity couldn’t make it, she had something work related keeping her in Canterlot. So, she let us bring Sweetie Belle along with us.” Sunset explained as she walked over and sat next to Sweetie Belle. Applejack looked up and took a moment to look at the ponies and dragon traveling with Sweetie Belle.

“Hey, do I know y’all from somewhere? I feel like Ah’ve seen ya before.” she asked. Cadence and Twilight giggled at one another confusing Applejack, but then Sweetie was quick to give introductions.

“This is the House of Sun, Applejack! Well, most of them anyway. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stayed behind to watch our stuff.” Applejack’s eyes widened in shock when she looked back up at every pony in front of her she almost panicked and then made a quick respectful bow.

“Ah’m sorry your majesties!!! Ah didn’t know, please forgive me fer bein so formal!” she blurted out.

“Oh no, its fine really. We’re not used to being treated like royalty.” Twilight said helping Applejack stand back up,

“In fact, we kind of prefer it that way.” Cadence added.

“Well, if y’all insist I suppose I could be a bit less formal. So, what brings you all the way out here exactly?” Applejack asked.

“We’re on vacation but our Hot-Air balloon sprung a small leak, we had to set down to ask for help fixing it. Sweetie Belle seemed like she knew a few ponies in town so we decided to stop to ask for help.” Sunset explained to Applejack. The country mare undid the harness from the wagon she was pulling and with a smile answered,

“Well, shoot. Ah think I might know just the pony to help y’all out. If’n ya want I can take the rest of y’all into town to get anything else you might be needin.” A moment later Applejack turned and walked a short distance yelling to a large red stallion in the distance who seemed to be flirting with a pink maned mare with a reddish purple coat.

“Big Macintosh! Get yer flank over here! And bring your toolbox! I got something for y’all to do!” she shouted, the stallion looked at the mare standing on the over the side of the fence from him and quickly nuzzled her before turning to Applejack and replying with a simple.

“Eeyup” Big Mac grabbed a nearby toolbox and then trot over to the ponies waiting for him, when he reached them he came to a dead stop recognizing the royal family quicker than Applejack did. He raised his hoof pointing at them trying to contemplate what was going on,

“Ah’ll explain it to y’all later, just go with them and help get their balloon fixed up. They’re trying to enjoy their vacation.” Applejack said,

Big Mac nodded and once again simply saying. “Ee...Eeyup...” Cadence and Shining waved and guided Big Mac back to the balloon while Sweetie and Spike trotted over to the mare that Big Mac had been talking to,
“Ms. Cheerilee!! Hi! Its me, Sweetie Belle!” Sweetie shouted. Cheerilee paused and looked back to see Spike and Sweetie approach, she knelt down and hugged the little filly once she was close enough.

“Sweetie Belle! It’s so good to see you again, how’s things in Canterlot? I heard you were living with your sister in the big city.” she asked. Sweetie hesitated for a moment but then nodded with a smile,

“Yeah...I’ve been living at her place, she said I was a big help when we were helping her move in and wanted me to stay to help her out more.” she replied. Cheerilee was happy to see her former student was doing so well,

“Well I’m certainly glad to hear your doing so well Sweetie Belle. Are you going to go visit Applebloom and Scootaloo while your in town? They’ll be absolutely thrilled to see you I’m sure.” she asked. Twilight, Sunset, and Applejack watched Spike and Sweetie talking to Cheerilee which made Sunset and Twilight happy to see her smiling so much.

“So do y’all need to get anything in town? I reckon I could still show ya around if you need some help.” Applejack asked.

“Well, now that you mention it. We could use a few snacks to make the trip better, right Twi?” Sunset said giving her friend a gentle nudge.

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind checking out the town for a little bit. It’ll be a nice breather before we start traveling again.” Twilight added.

A short while later Applejack guided them into Ponyville, as they walked Applejack pointed the different shops and what they had to offer. Twilight and Sunset looked around taking in the sights, Twilight noticed a few ponies watching her and Spike. She realized they must have recognized her but no pony was making the effort to approach them let alone talk.

“And over there is Sugarcube corner, its owned by the Cake’s. But its also the best place in town to get any baked goods y’all might need for yer trip. Over there is...” As Applejack talked she was suddenly cut off by a pink pony rushing over and hugging her with blinding speed, the force of her grabbing Applejack almost knocking her over.

“APPLEJACK!!! You have new friends! Introduce us!!!” the pink pony shouted happily. Twilight and Sunset stood surprised, Applejack tried to fix her hat and talk but the pink one refused to let her go.

“Sure thing...Pinkie...I just...need some...space.” Applejack pushed against Pinkie trying to get her to release her hug, when she finally got Pinkie to let go she composed herself and fixed her hat.

“Anywho, this here is Pinkie Pie. Pinkie, this is Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Spike.” Applejack leaned over whispering the next part to Pinkie hoping not to draw attention. “They’re all three a part of the House of Sun from Canterlot, Twilight’s even Princess Celestia’s daughter!” Pinkie let out a loud gasp covering her mouth which turned into a massive smile, a second later she let out an almost deafening scream before hugging Sunset and Twilight.

“Oh my Stars! New friends! And your famous ponies at that!!!” Pinkie shouted.

“Well...its nice to meet you Pinkie Pie. I’m glad you think of us as friends even though we just met.” Twilight said.

Pinkie took a step back and then happily announced, “New friends means we need a party to celebrate!!! Come on AJ! Let’s have a party!” Pinkie announced as she threw streamers and confetti into the air seemingly from nowhere.

“NO! No, Pinkie, we’re not going to be staying long, we’re only going to be here until our balloon gets fixed. But we appreciate the thought.” Sunset said calming the pink one down.

“Awww...but you’ll come visit again right? And then we can have a big fancy party just for all of you right?” Pinkie asked. Twilight nodded and looked at Sunset who agreed with a smile,

“Yay!!! I gotta get back home and start planning out the party now! It’s gonna be so great!!” Pinkie shouted before turning and bunny hopping away from the others.

“Well...she’s, energetic.” Sunset said looking at Twilight then Applejack.

“Yeah, that’s our Pinkie Pie alright. She knows how to throw a fun party though that’s fer sure. Now, come on y’all. Let’s go get the rest of those things you wanted.” Applejack said as she turned to lead them into town. Sunset came to a stop though and started to look around for a moment.

“Sunset? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

She looked back at Applejack and Twilight and asked. “Where did Spike and Sweetie go?”

Sweetie and Spike rushed across Ponyville and into the fields just past the town to a small area littered with trees. Sweetie was more excited than before and constantly shouted for Spike to keep up. Spike did his best, but it wasn’t easy for a two legged dragon to keep pace with a four legged pony. Sweetie Belle led Spike to a tree house in the middle of the grove and the two rushed up to the door and Sweetie eagerly threw the door open and announced her presence.

“Scootaloo! Applebloom!! I’m back!!!”

Author's Note

Well this chapter turned out longer than I was expecting it to be. :yay: Unfortunately I ran out of ideas pretty quick near the end there, but I'll try and get the next update going as soon as I can. :pinkiehappy: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter too, as you got two Mane six ponies for the price of one this chapter. Also decided to throw in a few more Ponyville cameos while I was at it for good measure. Next chapter of course will have Scoots and Applebloom which should be interesting to write. :eeyup: In the meantime, hope you enjoyed the newest update. As per usual leave me some comments and a like or two. Take care Every creature!

The things you miss, when you're away.

Sweetie Belle burst through the doors to the clubhouse announcing her presence to every pony inside. When she looked ahead she naturally recognized her two friends but also noticed three other ponies with them two of which she knew. The orange pegasus standing at the podium trot over to Sweetie as did the yellow earth pony giving Sweetie a big hug,

“Sweetie! You’re back! I can’t believe your actually here right now!” the orange filly announced.

“Who’s yer friend? And is...he a dragon?” the other asked. Sweetie Belle smiled and nodded she looked at Spike as he stepped forward to introduce himself.

“Hi! I’m Spike from the house of Sun it’s nice to meet all of you.” he said, every pony except for Sweetie gasped in shock at Spike’s introduction.

“From the House of Sun? Like, as in Princess Celestia’s family?” one of the filly’s asked. Sweetie Belle nodded and introduced Spike to her friends,

“This is Applejack’s sister, Applebloom and this is Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle looked past Scootaloo and Applebloom at the other ponies and asked her friends. “How come Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are here though? And who’s that?” Applebloom walked over to the third mare and wrapped her hoof around her pulling her close for a hug.

“This is my cousin Babs! She’s been staying with us, so we all been hanging out together trying to find ways to help out every pony in Ponyville.” Applebloom explained.

"Hi there, its nice to meet ya, Applebloom's talked about ya alot. Never thought I'd get to see you though." Babs replied.

“Silver Spoon and I are here because we’ve trying to help out too. We’ve been helping a lot of ponies get there cutie marks.” Diamond Tiara explained.

“We’re pretty good at it too, we helped Applebloom get hers!” Silver Spoon explained. Sweetie immediately looked and noticed the cutie mark on Applebloom’s flank, a small potion bottle in the shape of an apple.

“What?! When did that happen?” she shouted,

Applebloom smiled and turned to explain. “I got it from helping out Zecora with her potions, I used to just bring her ingredients she needed but then she started letting me help and after a few tries I got my cutie mark!” Applebloom said.

“Zecora? That scary pony who lives in the forest?” Sweetie asked,

“She’s not scary, in fact she’s really nice! We visit her whenever we get the chance! She’s not a pony either, she’s a Zebra from Zebrica! She always talks in rhymes too, which is weird but also kind cool she can do it so naturally.” Scootaloo added. All the foals sat together in the clubhouse happy to explain all that had happened while Sweetie was gone, Sweetie Belle seemed to get a little upset though which Spike noticed.

“Are you okay Sweetie?” he asked, the others turned their attention to the two as Sweetie spoke up.

“Yeah...I just can’t believe how much I missed while I was gone. It’s only been a few months, not even a full year. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are nice now, Applebloom has her cutie mark, and is Big Mac dating Ms. Cheerilee?” Applebloom nodded with a smile,

“Yeah! We tried getting them together for Hearts and Hooves day, but everything we tried wasn’t working.” Scootaloo said. Diamond Tiara took a step towards Sweetie putting her hoof on her chest with a smile,

“That’s where Silver Spoon and I came in, we talked to each other about what Scootaloo and Applebloom were doing and WE came up with a better plan.” Tiara explained.

“Now they’re been dating for almost two months. It’s all because of us, of course.” Silver added. Sweetie Belle sat down and held her hooves up angrily shouting to them,

“Well were not leaving until I hear the whole story now! I wanna know everything that’s happened since I left Ponyville!” Scootaloo and Applebloom both giggled before pulling up a table with a few snacks on it,

“Well then let’s start with how we first met Zecora!” Applebloom said.

Twilight and Sunset walked behind Applejack as they approached Apple Acres, Sunset carrying a basket full of snacks and other goods they’d gotten from Sugarcube corner.

“Mmmm, so good...you didn’t tell us Pinkie knew how to make such good snacks Applejack.” Sunset said as she finished munching on a cookie from the basket.

“Well I wasn’t expecting her to be there when we walked in to be fair. But I’m glad y’all have been makin friends here in Ponyville.” Applejack replied.

“Should we go look for Sweetie Belle and Spike? I mean, they wouldn’t get into trouble while we were away would they?” Twilight asked. Applejack looked back at Twilight with a reassuring smile,

“Don’t worry about those two none, I’ve got a pretty good idea where they might be. I’ll got get’em myself if y’all need me to.” she replied. As they finally got back to the farm Twilight and Sunset noticed their balloon parked out front of the farmhouse, Shining and Big Mac both working on patching the hole in the side.

“Wait, if that’s here now...where’s Princess Celestia and Mom at?” Sunset asked. The three mares walked into Applejack’s home and found an older green mare sitting on the couch in the living room with the missing alicorns drinking tea, a half eaten pie sitting on the table in the middle of the room.

“And that’s how we found out what an appetite Applejack had when she was just a foal.” the older mare said. Luna, Celestia, and Cadence all chuckled in response to her story and then noticed Twilight and the others walking in.

“Oh Twilight, Sunset, so good to see you both.” Celestia said upon noticing her daughter walk in.

“Is everything alright? We saw the hot air balloon outside.” Twilight asked before setting her saddlebag down.

“Oh absolutely, we’ve just been sharing stories with Granny Smith while we waited is all. I must say though, this Apple Sweet tea she makes is absolutely divine. I hope you’ll let us know where we could get more.” Luna replied.

“Hee hee, Sorry Princess, it’s an ol’ Apple family recipe. Ah can’t just give it to any ol’pony. Even if she’s a princess.” Granny replied. The three mares giggled with one another again at Granny’s reply, Twilight and Sunset sat down at the table setting the basket of goods they’d bought next to the pie on the table.

“We got some snacks for the trip by the way, there’s a really nice bakery here. I’m thinking about coming back for more of what they have after our vacation.” Sunset said. Luna leaned over and looked at the small cakes and cookies in the basket,

“They certainly look delicious, that’s for certain.” Luna said. Cadence looked around for a moment and then towards the front door,

“Where’s Spike and Sweetie Belle at? I thought they were with you.” she asked, Twilight poured herself a cup of tea and took a small sip before answering.

“They ran off while we were distracted by one of Applejack’s friends, she says she knows where they might be. So I figured we could go get them once the balloon is finished. It’ll be good for Sweetie to reconnect with her old friends too I think.”

“That’s true, she and Rarity were from Ponyville originally after all.” Cadence replied.

Sweetie and Spike walked towards Apple Acres, Sweetie having a little more pep to her stride than usual.

“Are you okay Sweetie? You’re not upset about what your friends told you are you?” Spike asked,

Sweetie stopped and looked at Spike and smiled. “Are you kidding? I’m so happy for them! The things they’ve been doing while I was away, I mean sure, I wish I was there with them for all of it. But think about what they did while I was gone! They made friends with Zecora, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon. Applebloom got her cutie mark, they’re working day and night to help Scootaloo get hers. Plus they even got Ms. Cheerilee to date Big Macintosh! If any thing I need to step up my game and go on adventures with you and Twilight! Playing Ogres and Oubliettes is a good start, but I think I can do better.” Sweetie replied. Spike was happy to see that Sweetie Belle wasn’t upset like he was expecting, instead she was more excited than ever. With a happy trot Sweetie Belle and Spike made their way through the front gates of the Apple farm, the two approached Shining and Big Mac who were finally refilling the air in the balloon.

“That should just about do it I think, the holes all patched and we can get things under way again.” Shining said. Big Mac walked up beside him and held up his hoof, Shining giving him a bro hoof in response.

“Eeyup.”

Sweetie and Spike ran up to Shining and Big Mac smiles on their faces,

“Is the balloon finally ready? Are we going to get back to our vacation?” Sweetie asked, Shining playfully rubbed his hoof on Sweetie’s head in response to her question.

“That’s right, the holes all fixed up so we can finally get moving again. You two mind getting Twilight and the others while we put all the luggage back in the basket?” Shining replied. Sweetie and Spike both eagerly rushed off to go get the others, Big Mac started to help Shining to put the bags into the basket one at a time. As he lifted one of the suitcases though he noticed a small black box fall out of Shining’s dufflebag. Shining watched Big Mac pick it up and open it to see inside was a pair of gold chain necklaces with a charm in the middle of both that was his and Cadence’s cutie marks. Shining took the box back from Big Mac and quickly tucked it away before any other pony could see it. He looked back at Big Mac a little nervous,

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude. I just...want to keep it a surprise for Cadence. She means a lot to me and I figured this vacation was a good time to ask her. You’ll keep it a secret, right?” Shining asked. Big Mac simply smiled and gave his usual reply of course,

“Eeyup.”

A moment later the others came out of the house, Sweetie and Spike leading the way. Spike helped Sweetie into the basket and then climbed after her. Celestia and Luna stood with Granny Smith for a moment,

“Well we had an absolutely wonderful time, and certainly hope we can do this again.” Celestia replied.

“Oh I’d love to have ya come visit again. We hardly ever get visitors out here, and I’d love to share some more of my stories. Come back any time Princess.” Granny replied. Twilight shook Applejack’s hoof with smile, Sunset doing the same after.

“Well it was nice meeting the both of ya, don’t be strangers now. Y’all still need to come back fer that party ya promised Pinkie Pie don’t forget.” AJ said.

“Oh don’t worry, we’ll definitely be back for that.” Sunset answered. The House of Sun climbed into the basket and waved goodbye as the hot air balloon finally lifted off the ground, Twilight’s horn glowed with magic as she added more air to the balloon and guided in the direction of their destination.

“Well, that was fun. It wasn’t quite how we planned our first day of vacation, but I don’t think it was a waste either.” she said.

“I had fun, Applejack’s family were really nice. Maybe we should invite them to Canterlot some time, or at the least we should come back to visit again.” Cadence added.

Celestia giggled before laying down on her belly and saying, “Well I certainly would like more of that tea Granny Smith made. But that’ll have to be for another day, next stop Costa Del Bronco.”

Author's Note

Sry for the late update (again) :twilightblush: , I've been getting lazy with updates plus I've been struggling with how things are gonna go once they get to their actual vacation spot. :moustache: I have a base idea but I'll still need to get some brainstorming done. But I can't say whether it'll be up sooner or later, especially since there are WAY too many good games coming out next month. But I promise not to forget about this and get the next update up when I finish it. Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter, next update they arrive at Costa Del Bronco for their vaction! :yay:

Costa Del Bronco

The hot air balloon drifted through the sky gently, Sweetie and Spike looked over the edge at the landscape beneath them.

“Hey, I think we’re there!” Sweetie announced, Twilight and Sunset walked over looking down themselves. Beneath them was a rather large tropical resort, consisting of a large building with smaller huts surrounding it, a dock with different boats of varying sizes, a large waterfall and small lake just a short distance away from that.

“Yes! That’s it alright! Costa Del Bronco, let’s set down and get everything started!” Twilight said. Shining walked over and began to let the air out of the balloon so as to slow its descent to the ground. They landed just outside of the main building each pony hopping out and gathering up their respective bags, a moment later the staff approached them led by an older mare in a suit.

“Greetings your majesty, allowme to say how honored we are to have you here to vacation. I’m chairman Cinch, the mare in charge of resort.” she said.

Celestia walked up and shook her hoof with a smile, “Well, its certainly nice to meet you. Thank you so much for letting us book a few rooms on such short notice.” Celestia replied.

Cinch smiled and nodded, “Oh its no trouble at all really, after all we’re hosting a vacation for the Royal family, the House of Sun itself.” Cinch said, she looked over the rest of the group and smiled at them. “And I must say, I can certainly tell that you all...love each other so much. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my office work. Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest will help you to your rooms, and we’ll see that your belongings are brought as well.” she added before nodding politely and walking away. The white mare in glasses walked up to them with an almost blank expression,

“I’m Sugarcoat your majesty, this way please your rooms are ready.” she said. The group followed Sugarcoat close behind Lemon Zest following behind to make sure no pony trailed off. As they walked Twilight was busy looking through a brochure with Celestia.

“Look at how much there is to do here, river rafting, base jumping, nature walks, zip lining, and of course we could always just relax by the pool or the beach.” Twilight said.

“Oooh, I could use some excitement! And Zip lining sounds like a lot of fun, I honestly can’t decide on which to do first!” Celestia said as she looked over the brochure with Twilight. Luna seemed to groan at the mention of all the things Celestia wanted to do,

“I’d prefer to do a little more relaxing myself, I get enough excitement from patrolling the dream realm every night.” she said. Sunset nudged Luna and smiled at her,

“Oh come on, we need to do something exciting while were here at least.” Sunset quipped. They finally reached a group of four huts just off the beach, Lemon Zest holding out her hoof with a smile.

“Here you are, your rooms all ready just for you dude. We’ll have your things brought up while you're out having fun. Enjoy your stay at Costa Del Bronco!” she said before she and Sugarcoat trot off.

“Four rooms huh? So how do we split them up?” Shining asked,

“How about Aunt Luna and Celestia can take one, I’ll bunk with Sweetie Belle, Sunset with Twilight, and lastly you and Spike?” Cadence suggested. Every pony nodded in agreement and each one went into their rooms to get organized. A moment later they all gathered outside ready to discuss what they would do with their day.

“So what now? What should we do first? River rafting? Zip lining?” Celestia said with an eager grin,

“I’d really prefer to just relax actually mom, there’s plenty else we could do.” Twilight said.

Sunset gave Twilight a nudge, “Come on Twi, this is our big family vacation let’s have some fun!” she said. They went back and forth trying to decide what they should all do on their first day, but no pony could decide what as they all had different ideas of how to relax. Then Cadence, suddenly spoke up,

“What if we all split up for the first day? Then we can all get back together for dinner at the all you can eat buffet later?” she suggested.

“I’m alright with that, what about you Tia?” Luna asked. Celestia naturally agreed with her sister and they all split up into groups to go have fun.

Cadence and Sweetie Belle trot through the resort,

“Thanks for coming with Princess Cadence, I’m glad some pony wanted to go on the nature walk! I wanna see all the birds and other animals there are!” she said.

Cadence walked alongside her and smiled, “You can just call me Cadence Sweetie, were practically family now. No need to be so formal anymore.” Cadence said. Sweetie giggled happily at Cadence’s words happy to see that she could talk to her like Twilight and Spike. The two reached the nature trail and were greeted by a by a yellow mare with blue hair and goggles across her forehead.

“Hi there, I’m Sour Sweet. Welcome to the nature trail, please be sure to stay on the designated path while hiking and don’t feed any of the animals.” she said with a smile. Sweetie eagerly trot ahead of Cadence as the two walked along the nature trail. The path was littered with gorgeous tropical flowers and plants, the sounds of birds chirping could be heard all around them. Sweetie stopped and looked around seeing all the birds in the trees,

“There’s so many! I’ve never seen most of these birds!” Sweetie said excitedly,

“There’s a few parrots over there! And look, over there’s a tortoise!” Cadence said as she sat next to Sweetie.

“I’m surprised Twilight didn’t come with us, she would’ve gone full nerd at the sight of all the birds here.” Sweetie said to Cadence with a smile.

“You’re right she’d love this, maybe we can get her to come with us tomorrow. She’ll probably spend most of the time just taking notes or pictures though. Come on, we’re not even half done with the trail yet!” Cadence said. They walked along the path taking in the sights of the local wildlife. As the two walked Sweetie paused and looked up at Cadence curiously,

“Hey Cadence, how did you get your cutie mark?” she asked.

“Mine? Why do you ask?” Cadence replied.

“Well...when we were in Ponyville I saw an old friend and she’d gotten hers while we I was gone, and they’re trying to help another one of my other friends get hers. So I thought maybe you’d have an idea how I can get mine is all.” Sweetie answered.

Cadence smiled happy to see Sweetie asking her for help, “Well...I got mine just before I became an alicorn actually, I was just an orphan pegasus living in a small village not too far from Canterlot. One day a witch came into the village with a magic pendant that tried to drain the love out of every pony in the village. I was so scared out of my mind when I stood up to her, but I was determined to show her that she didn’t have to be as bad as she was being. And so through an act of compassion I got my cutie mark.” she explained. Sweetie clung to every word Cadence said as they walked looking back at the cutie mark on her flank,

“So what happened afterwards?” she asked. Cadence paused and sat down looking at Sweetie,

“The pendant she had broke, and all the love she stole came pouring out. Most of it went back to the villagers but some of it went straight into me, I thought I was gonna burst but instead I got sent somewhere I’d never been before. Next thing I knew, there was Auntie, Princess Celestia there to greet me with a smile. I was terrified, I’d thought I’d done something bad to end up there in front of the princess. But she instead told me what my being there meant and when I got back to the village, I had a horn and my own special brand of magic. A few days later Auntie showed up to take me to Canterlot and teach me how to be a proper princess.” Cadence finished. Sweetie smiled back at her excited to hear her story,

“Wow! That’s awesome! Do you think Princess Luna and Princess Celestia got their wings like that too?” Sweetie asked. Cadence paused to think for a moment, she’d never really given it much thought before and she’d never really asked if Celestia and Luna were born alicorns or not.

“Tell you what, let’s both ask them after dinner later. What do you think?” she asked Sweetie. The two mares finally finished walking the nature trail as the got close to the end though they heard voices, and shouting. Cadence kept Sweetie behind and looked to see Sour Sweet being yelled at by another yellow pony with pink hair.

“Sour Sweet?! You moron, you’re disguise is Indigo Zap! Get it right, and don’t screw it up again! You know what’ll happen if SHE finds out you jeopardized the plan?” the other mare shouted. A moment later she stormed off angrily, Cadence looked at Sweetie a little concerned now.

“What were they talking about? Why did she say her name wasn’t Sour Sweet?” Sweetie whispered, Cadence wasn’t sure what they’d just listened to but she was sure something was amiss at the resort.

Author's Note

This took a while, I'll be honest I got some bad writer's block thinking this one up. So sorry if it seems half a**ed in any way. But I think I did a good job setting things up for the rest of the arc. May take a while to get the next chapter up as I have to try and think where to go from here, but I'll try not to take another month to post an update this time. Anyway, leave some comments and and drop a like or two. :pinkiehappy:

Something Amiss

Cadence and Sweetie made their way back to the food court, the others were waiting at a table for them eating. Cadence walked over and sat next to Twilight, Sweetie next to Spike who she gave a quick kiss on the cheek to making him smile.

“So? You two have fun on the nature walk?” Twilight asked with a smile, Cadence and Sweetie nodded but then Cadence’s expression changed to one of concern.

“So, has every pony been enjoying themselves? Nothing strange or unusual while you were having fun right?” Cadence asked. They all looked at one another for a moment before turning back to Cadence.

“What do you mean Cadence? Did something happen on the nature trail?” Celestia asked before taking a sip of her iced tea. Cadence wasn’t sure how much she should tell her family right now she didn’t want to get them worried when the possibility that she just misunderstood a situation was still there.

“Sort of, I just saw Sour Sweet arguing with another pony it just had me concerned is all. It was probably just a mistake one of them made is all.” Cadence replied. Every pony ate their dinner with a smile, the food court having a rather large all you can eat buffet to choose from.

“So what’s every pony going to be doing on day two of our little vacation?” Celestia asked. Twilight held a booklet with all the resorts activities listed in it, and pointed to what she was planning to do tomorrow.

“There’s a river rafting course that Sunset and I were thinking about doing tomorrow, Each raft holds four if any pony else wants to join in.” she explained.

“That sounds like fun, mind if Spike and I join in? We were just gonna go to the arcade tomorrow but this sounds a lot more fun.” Shining asked. Sunset and Twilight both nodded in agreement when they asked to join, Spike looked over at Sweetie curious about her plans as well.

“What about you Sweetie? You just gonna spend time with Cadence some more tomorrow? Or are you gonna go with Mom or Aunt Luna?” he asked. Sweetie sat thinking for a moment,

but then Cadence spoke up. “We can spend more time together tomorrow Sweetie, I don’t mind.” Sweetie eagerly agreed when Cadence invited her.

“Well Celestia and I decided to book an appointment at the spa and sauna tomorrow. Its been ages since either one of us got a chance to be pampered like that, and I’m certainly looking forward to it.” Luna said before taking a sip of her drink,

Tia smiled at her sister and then nudged her grinning and saying. “That’s fine, but then we get to do something more exciting the next day. I want some adventure that doesn’t involve some evil plot to help me unwind this vacation.” The two older mares giggled at one another and every pony finished eating their dinner before returning to their rooms to sleep for the night. All their luggage was in their rooms waiting and they unpacked what they’d brought to better help relax. Cadence sat at the window looking outside at the night sky, the sky was crystal clear tonight and every star was out tonight which made Cadence smile. But at the back of her mind she still couldn’t help but wonder about the conversation she’d heard earlier in the day. She looked back at Sweetie Belle peacefully sleeping in her bed, curled up in the bedsheets. Cadence decided she would put it at the back of her mind for now and climbed into her bed to get some sleep.

The next morning Cadence woke to a gentle nudging, she looked over her shoulder to see Sweetie Belle was awake and eager to start the day.

“Come on Cadence! Every pony else is up already! Let’s go get some breakfast and then have some fun!” Sweetie begged, Cadence sat up slowly rubbing the sleep from her eyes and then climbed out of bed.

“Alright Sweetie, let’s go get something to eat.” she replied. Sweetie led the way as the two made their way back to the food court to get something to eat. Cadence looked at each of the rooms where the rest of her family was staying and sure enough each one of them had already gotten and left, the realization that she’d slept in made Cadence a little embarrassed but she didn’t let her slow her down any.

Twilight and the others finished putting on their life vests and strapping themselves into the raft. A blue mare named Sunny Flare who worked at the resort smiled at them as they finished getting ready to start their rafting venture.

“Okay every pony, remember to keep your legs and hooves inside the raft and don’t deviate from the course alright? Most importantly, have fun!” she said with a smile. A moment later the raft began to move down the river at a brisk pace,

“Woo-Hoo! This is gonna be so much fun!” Sunset shouted as they began. Twilight and Spike sat at the back of the raft while Sunset and Shining sat in front. The raft bounced along the river moving left and right, the three ponies and dragon doing their best to steer the raft as it splashed around. The river water was nice and cold and felt great under the hot sun as it splashed onto them, Twilight and Spike steered the raft from the back as best they could trying to keep pace with Sunset and Shining’s paddling the two trying to make the raft go as fast as they could down the river. The river curved around like a snake and the group shouted with glee as they bounced from occasional dip and drop in the river.

“This was a great idea! Next time we should bring Cadence and the princesses too!” Sunset shouted. They finally reached a calm stretch of the river and slowed the raft to a steady pace as they looked at the tropical forest along both sides of the river. Twilight being the nerd she was called out all the animals and rare flora that they passed by and coasted along the river. Then a rustling sound came from trees above gaining Shining’s attention,

“What was that? It was too big to be a bird. Maybe a monkey?” he asked. The others looked around at the canopy of the trees above them trying to see what it was Shining had heard. Then trees began to rustle again a few shadowy figures seen moving through the tree tops above them,

“Something’s following us!” Spike shouted. The four began to paddle their raft a little faster hoping to outrun whatever creatures were chasing after them now but just as they reached the next bend of the river they all turned to see a large sticky green web drop down from above.

Cadence and Sweetie Belle left the food court with full bellies, Sweetie noticed that Cadence seemed distracted though and walked alongside her.

“Cadence, are you okay? Is there something wrong?” Sweetie asked. Cadence looked down and smiled back at her trying to make her feel better and put her mind at ease.

“Oh no, its just...I was thinking about yesterday is all Sweetie. I can’t help but shake this bad feeling I’ve got right now. Maybe...maybe, I should go ask Mrs. Cinch about it? She might know something about what happened. Do you mind if we stop by the office to ask her Sweetie?” Cadence replied. Sweetie nodded in agreement and followed Cadence to the main office building of the resort, Cadence saw a young stallion and approached him asking where she might get directions.

“Oh, the directory to every pony’s office is right over their on the wall. Hope that helps Princess.” he said as he walked away to continue to his job.

“Thank you that is a big help, have a nice day.” Cadence replied as she walked over to the directory she held up her hoof and glanced over the names most of which she recognized. Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, Lemon Zest, when Cadence reached the end of the list though she noticed that head of the resort was listed as “Sugarcoat” though.

“That’s odd...I thought Mrs. Cinch was the head of the resort, why would Sugarcoat be listed as the head instead?” Cadence asked scratching her chin curiously.

“Maybe, maybe she just got promoted and they haven’t changed the names on the board yet?” Sweetie replied. Cadence wasn’t convinced though, the conversation from yesterday and now this was beginning to make her wonder about what was going on without their knowledge.

“Come on Sweetie...I think it’s time we go talk to Auntie about all this...”

Author's Note

Sorry for the big delay on this one, alot of stuff happened. I tried to upgrade my PC's parts and more or less ended rebuilding my entire PC which left me without it for a little over a week. :raritycry: Then Christmas and New Year's happened and I got swamped with work, :raritydespair: and lastly I just forgot about the update altogether after getting some new games for Christmas. But anyway here it is, sorry if its a little short though. Was hard to try and figure out a way to stretch this one out. But now I've got everything back on track and can really get the vacation arc going full steam. Hope you enjoyed it, until next time friends! :pinkiehappy:

Metal Gear Sweetie Belle

Cadence stood in shock, the sudden revelation of the entire resort being changelings was the last thing any pony could have expected after all. Chrysalis stood watching with a smile and then she pointed and announced to her minions,

“Get her!!!” The changelings leapt at Cadence who instantly threw up a barrier shielding her and Sweetie Belle, the changelings all dog piled onto the barrier beating against it with their feet over and over. Sweetie clung to Cadence’s neck her eyes shut tight, face buried in the back of Cadence’s neck.

“Cadence!!! What do we do!? I’m scared!” she whimpered. Cadence tried to keep up her barrier but there were so many Changelings she was using way more magic than normal to maintain this barrier and with all of them beating against it she wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. The sound of Chrysalis laughing while watching only made Cadence more fearful, she had to get away and find some place safe for Sweetie. Cadence’s barrier began to crack from the constant attacks, small chips and holes beginning to appear across it. Cadence shut her eyes and focused the best she could her horn glowing a bright blue and in a sudden bright flash of light that briefly blinded the changelings around her. When Chrysalis looked back Cadence and Sweetie were both gone, Cadence having escaped with the use of a teleport spell.

Chrysalis’ rage was swift and sudden as she shouted at her minions, “WHERE IS SHE!?! Don’t just stand there, find her!!! She couldn’t have gotten far!” Every changeling scattered rushing to search for the missing princess and filly,

“OCELLUS!!” Chrysalis shouted. A single small changeling stopping and looking back at her afraid, the Queen stomped towards her and leaned down towards her.

“This was your FAULT! I gave you one chance to be part of the invasion force, and you couldn’t even get a simple name right! Go to the cavern this instant! Watch the prisoners with Thorax and try not to screw this up, understood!?” she shouted. Ocellus timidly nodded and then scurried off before her queen could yell at her more.

“I won’t be denied this victory...I don’t know why HE told me the royal family would be here, but I’m not wasting this opportunity.” Chrysalis thought as she stormed away.

Sweetie slowly opened her eyes and noticed they were back in their hut, Cadence was collapsed on the floor beneath her exhausted.

“Oh my gosh! Cadence! Are you alright?” Sweetie said hopping off Cadence and walking around to face her.

Cadence lifted her head a bit and smiled, “Yeah...I just used a little too much magic is all, just need to catch my breath...that barrier and teleport combo took a lot out of me. Not sure how Twilight makes it look so easy…” Cadence said before resting her head down on the floor. Sweetie quickly scurried around the room getting a pillow and blanket for Cadence to help her better rest.

“What do we do now? Those bug things are everywhere, and we still don’t know where every pony else is!” Sweetie said. Cadence wasn’t sure what she should say right now, she knew the changelings were likely holding her family and the resort staff nearby but she didn’t know the first place to look. Worse yet she was worn out and needed time to recover which was dangerous right now given that the changelings were actively looking for them.

“Just give me a few seconds Sweetie, and then we’ll go look for...help...alright?…” Cadence closed her eyes and drifted off. Sweetie tried to wake her but it was no good, Cadence was too tired now. Sweetie wasn’t sure what to do, she was just a filly after all and she had no idea what to do right now. But getting help was a priority and she needed to find some way to keep Cadence safe if only for a little while.

“Stay here and rest Cadence, I’ll go look for Twilight and Spike, or any pony who can help us!” she said as she stood confidently.

Sweetie crept out of the hut she turned moved a few nearby pieces of furniture in front of the door hoping that maybe it would keep Cadence safer for a little while longer at least. Sweetie quickly got away from the huts and hid in the brush of the resort, she continued to look around checking for changelings, everywhere in the resort they were changelings now, scurrying about and constantly searching. Sweetie was scared, she kept wondering whether she should go back and wait for Cadence after all. But her mind thinking about Spike and the others, sacred as she was she knew that she had to find them all first then she could go back for Cadence she thought. Sweetie moved through the brush hopping from bush to bush trying to find some sign of her missing friends. Sweetie found herself nearby the main building hiding in a bush beneath one of the trees there, she looked about and saw two changelings near the entrance talking to one another.

“Any sign of them?” one asked, the other shook his head.

“Nothing, how much longer do you think this is gonna take anyway?” he asked. The first changeling grit his teeth in annoyance before answering,

“It’s all Ocellus’ fault, all she had to do was just get a name right! Now we gotta search all over this stupid place to find that last alicorn.” the two changelings stood angrily glaring at the thought of the mistake Ocellus had made.

“At least she’s at the cavern standing guard now, no way she or Thorax can screw that up. Come on, let’s check the next area already. Sooner were done, the better.” Sweetie’s eyes widened at the mention of a cavern and wondered if that’s where they were keeping every pony. But where was the “cavern” at she thought? Sweetie tried to think of all the places that were at the resort, she had looked over the map a lot with Twilight while they were on their way here. She remembered a waterfall and spring not far from the where she was now, it was a long shot she thought but maybe that’s where the cavern was at? Being behind a waterfall would obstruct ponies from seeing anything and the sound of the falls would help as well. Once the two changelings left Sweetie moved through the bushes keeping low hoping she’d make it to where she needed to go. When she finally got to the waterfall she didn’t see any changelings nearby, but she had a feeling that there were some nearby watching. Worse yet, the area around the waterfall and spring was fairly exposed she wouldn’t have the option of creeping through the bushes now. Taking one last look around the area making sure there were no guards before finally walking out of the bushes. Sweetie wasted no time and rushed to the water just as she was about to reach the waters edge she heard a voice shouting. “Hey!” Sweetie turned to see a single Changeling land close to her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, a small hint of timidity behind his voice though. Sweetie began to panic and think of a way out of this, but then she remembered the changelings before mentioning a name. She suddenly stood upright, closed her eyes and snapped back angrily,

“SHUT UP THORAX!” When she opened her eyes the changeling in front of her was completely recoiling in response to her raised voice. It almost left her dumbstruck that it worked, but she didn’t waste time and followed through.

“I’m in disguise right now! And the Queen told me to come check on the prisoners! And how come you’re not in disguise?!” Sweetie shouted. Thorax recoiled more his expression turning even more nervous as he swallowed the lump in his throat,

“I’m sorry, I forgot is all.” he said before changing to a random pony with a flick of his magic. Sweetie glared angrily back at Thorax keeping up her act, she was so glad this changeling had no backbone right now. She angrily pointed away from where they were standing and shouted at him again,

"Now go stand guard idiot! I’ve got work to do!” Thorax nodded and quickly trot off, once he was out of sight Sweetie almost collapsed letting out a deep, deep sigh of relief. Her heart was racing right now and she couldn’t believe she’d just acted her way out of all that just now. She turned back towards the waterfall and put up a small barrier above her head walking through the water, when she opened her eyes back up she was awe struck to see there was a cave behind the waterfall! Scrunching her face and making a small light from her horn she continued onward hoping there were no more changelings ahead. As Sweetie walked deeper into the cavern she noticed an eerie green lit chamber ahead, she rushed over and hid behind a nearby rock and cautiously peeking over she saw a room full of green cocoons each one containing a sleeping pony. Sweetie kept looking around the cavern, there must have been at least a hundred ponies in here she thought way more than just the resort staff. She recognized a few of the ponies as members of the resort staff, Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, then in the center cluster of the room she saw Spike! And Twilight! She smiled at the thought that she’d found them! Now she just had to get back to Cadence...

Author's Note

So before anyone asks about the chapters Title, I couldn't think of anything better and just went with something funny. It also seemed appropriate given the chapter focuses on Sweetie Belle. This one took a while to come up with though, I did get some help from friends though and now I have a better idea of what to do next chapter too. Hope you guys like the update, and look forward to the next chapter.

A Better Way

Cadence slowly woke up her head pounding from using too much magic before, she struggled to stand her body feeling heavy with exhaustion. She’d gotten a good amount of magic back from passing out but she knew she wasn’t at her best right now either. Her eyes suddenly shot open though as she remembered Sweetie Belle was with her, Cadence stood on all four hooves and looked around the hut for the little filly.

“Sweetie Belle? Sweetie? Where are you?” She said in a loud whisper, Cadence wanted to get her attention if she was there but she also knew she had to keep her voice down in case any changelings were nearby. Cadence searched the hut and after a few minutes she found no sign of the filly save for the furniture against the door to the outside. Cadence was about to open the door when suddenly she heard the clamoring of hooves on the roof of the hut, she looked up and then turned at the sound of a window shattering a group of changelings bursting into the hut. Cadence stood her ground and blasted the three changelings away with her magic, another moment later and she heard another group breaking in through the front door behind her. They knew where she was now and had begun to swarm the hut, she needed to escape quick and so Cadence tensed her legs up and sprang upwards and crashed through the roof of the hut with her full strength. As she flew into the sky she looked back to see the changelings flying after her like a swarm of bees. Cadence was still scared and worried about Sweetie Belle but she knew she had to get help first and focused on flying away. A massive burst of magic then struck her in the chest and knocked her back though, before she could recover and see what had hit her the changelings piled on top of her and dragged her towards the ground. Cadence tried to focus her magic to make a barrier to get them off her but then she was struck by another magic blast and finally brought to the ground where the Changelings quickly held her down. Cadence tried to break free but her magic was too depleted and her body aching too much to fight back.

“Ah ha ha ha, there you are princess. We wondered where you had run off to, your family misses you so much. And we’ve been dying to reunite you all…” a voice taunted. Cadence looked up to see Chrysalis approaching surrounded by more changelings,

“Take her and put her with the others at once!” she ordered, the changelings immediately began to cocoon Cadence who let out a muffled scream as they worked. Chrysalis looked about the area and then looked at her minions angrily snapping at them,

“What about the last one? The little unicorn they brought with them? Where is she!?!” The changelings looked about, two looking inside the hut but Chrysalis could tell they had no answer for her.

“FIND HER YOU FOOLS!!! If she gets away then our plan is ruined! She could tell every creature my plans!” she shouted again. The changelings quickly scattered save for the ones finishing putting Cadence in her cocoon who instead followed Chrysalis as she marched towards the cavern where the rest of her captives were being held.

“Equestria will be mine…”

Sweetie Belle poked her head out the cavern looking around for any changelings in the area, she wasn’t worried about Thorax at the moment but she knew there had to be other guards as well. She made her way out from behind the waterfall and tried to get to the brush again before she was spotted. Suddenly Sweetie felt a body come crashing down on top of her pinning her to the ground,

“I’ve got you now! You’re not getting away pony!” the changeling shouted.

Sweetie panicked and covered her head shouting back, “Please don’t hurt me! Please!!!” The changeling took a step back in surprise though,

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I was just…” she replied. Sweetie was dumbfounded and looked back to see a changeling a little bigger than she was standing confused, she shook her head though and stood upright.

“No, wait that’s not right! I meant, uh…” she stuttered before suddenly hissing at Sweetie Belle. But Sweetie wasn’t scared anymore in fact she sat up and look at the small changeling confused,

“Your not very good at this are you?” she asked. The changeling just hissed again trying to sound angrier but it still didn’t scare the filly. After a moment the changeling sat down her face turning to an annoyed and angry grin.

“Arrgghhh!! I’m terrible at this! I should’ve just stayed at the hive...I was never gonna be cut out for the invasion force…” the changeling sobbed.

“Invasion force? Is that why your putting every pony in those green bubble things?” Sweetie asked, the changeling nodded silently looking sad as she did.

“Umm, my name’s Sweetie Belle. What’s your name? Do changelings have names?” Sweetie asked.

The changeling looked up and wiped her nose clearing her throat, “Oh, I’m Ocellus.” she replied, then almost instinctively she hissed at Sweetie Belle again but then recoiled covering her mouth. “Sorry, sorry, that wasn’t on purpose its just a reflex sometimes.” Ocellus said. Sweetie couldn’t help but giggle at her hissing now, being it was more funny than scary now,

“So how come your doing this? Foalnapping every pony and putting them in this cave?” Sweetie asked. Ocellus looked around making sure they were alone before answering,

“Its...just what we do, we need love to feed on so we sneak into places like this take creatures and keep them locked up so we can feed. Queen Chrysalis has us doing this all the time, I’m not sure why were here though. Just a few weeks ago she suddenly got really happy and demanded we all come here and grab every pony. We’ve been waiting for Princess Celestia for a few days now, but...I messed up the whole plan. Now I’m sitting here talking to you instead of helping the invasion force like I was supposed to.” Sweetie looked at her puzzled though,

“But why? Love isn’t something your supposed to steal or take from other ponies, its something that some pony else gives to you!” Sweetie explained, Ocellus looked at Sweetie confused by her words, she’d never heard of something like that and was a little curious to hear more. “I mean, have you ever tried to talk to other creatures? Make friends with them, I bet you could get a lot more love out of them that way and you wouldn’t have to hide that way either! I mean, you look a little scary sure, but that doesn't mean you are though.” Sweetie added, the filly standing up excited by her words.

Ocellus sat thinking for a moment, and then looked up at her, “Do you think so? Maybe, we could try talking to Queen Chrysalis about it.” Ocellus said. Sweetie smiled back at Ocellus happily now,

“Yeah! But, we need to get Princess Celestia first, or Twilight! Twilight’s right in the cave here in fact!” Sweetie announced. Ocellus knew every creature they’d captured was in there but she didn’t tell sweetie that instead thinking about what she said and nodding wanting to at least give her idea a try.

“Okay, let’s go get Twilight then we can go talk to Queen Chrysalis.” Ocellus answered, the two trotting into the cavern eagerly. The two made it to the main chamber where all the captives were cocooned Ocellus looking around before approaching Twilight’s cocoon, as Sweetie Belle followed her she noticed that Sunset, and Shining were there with Spike and Twilight too which made her smile.

“Come on, let’s get her down and we can go talk to the Queen!” Ocellus said flying up to try and get the cocoon down,

“OCELLUS What do you think your doing!?” a voice shouted, a group of changeling suddenly surrounded them angrily staring at what seemed to be a deliberate act of rebellion against the hive. Ocellus looked around the fear growing in her eyes and the way she was standing showed it as well, Sweetie knew the others were about to turn on her and quickly she stepped forward shouting,

“Wait! This was my idea, I just wanted Twilight to talk to your Queen! That’s all. Ocellus told me about how you all live, you hide and sneak into places and do this. Its how you live, aren’t you tired of it? Don’t you want to make friends? To not scare ponies all the time?” The changelings in the room looked around at one another a few muttering to each other as they did, one of the bigger changelings stepped forward though snapping at Sweetie Belle.

“Were the drones, we do as the Queen orders! We don’t dare defy her!”

Ocellus took a deep breath and spoke up again, “But what if we didn’t have to? What if Sweetie Belle is right and we can live out in the open, think about it? We wouldn’t have to scavenge all the time anymore! Sweetie Belle says love is something that’s supposed to be given, not stolen, we’d wouldn’t have to worry about starving or looking for more food sources anymore!” All the changelings continued to converse with one another a few seeming like they were taking Ocellus’ side as well, but the lead changeling spoke up again however.

“I won’t have you turning the hive against one another Ocellus! Now put that pony in a cocoon before…” suddenly he was cut off by another changeling speaking up.

“NO! Ocellus is right! So is Sweetie Belle! We shouldn’t live like this, aren’t you all tired of this? Sure we can look like any creature we want to, but we shouldn't have to!” he said aloud. The big changeling in front of Sweetie turned glared at the one who spoke up storming towards him,

“Shut up Thorax! Your opinion doesn’t mean anything here, your the biggest failure in the hive.” he snapped. Thorax recoiled at first but then he took a step forward standing his ground,

“That’s what I’m talking about! Look how the ponies live compared to us! They help each other, they take care of one another! But we’re constantly at one another's throats! Everything we do is supposed to be for the hive, but we don’t mean it we’re constantly competing to see who’s at the top. And Queen Chrysalis practically encourages this in us!” Thorax shouted back. Ocellus trot over and stood next to Thorax,

“We can make things better! I know we can, what about the rest of you? Don’t you want things to be better?” she asked. Sweetie Belle looked around the room and watched all the changelings in the cavern, to her surprise most of them moved to Ocellus and Thorax which made her smile. But then a voice spoke up quickly dashing the levity in the chamber,

“Well...isn’t this nice? A mutiny within my own hive…” Every creature in the chamber turned and standing at the entrance was Queen Chrysalis the remainder of her hive standing around her glaring back.

Author's Note

:pinkiehappy: Finally got this done, took way too long trying to think how this chapter would go, so sorry for the long wait. :twilightsheepish: When I first started this chapter I was planning on having Cadence be the focus, but somewhere along the line I decided to make Sweetie the hero instead. I think its worked out nicely though. Still not quite done with the vacation arc just yet so expect a few more chapter before moving onto the next. :twilightsmile: Anyway let me know what you guys think and be sure to drop a like or two. I always like reading the comments so keep them coming!

A Sweet way to Change...ling

Every changeling looked at Chrysalis as she stood in the entrance to the cavern,

“My Queen, Ocellus and Thorax were planning to betray you by releasing the House of Sun! Everyone here heard them say it.” the large changeling announced as he marched up to Chrysalis. She glared angrily at the two rebellious drones and began to march towards them,

“Is that so? Well done Pharynx...as for you two, have you anything to say about this mutiny? About betraying me and the hive?” she asked. Ocellus retreated a few steps taking cover behind Thorax who was visibly shaking in fear but stayed standing when Chrysalis approached.

“I...I...I think we need to change how things are in the hive. No one gets along and we constantly fight with each other.” he whimpered.

“You think we need to change? We’ve lived this way for decades Thorax! This is how we survived and you think that you’ll be able to change everything just because a little filly has given you an opinion? You? You’ve never had the back bone to do anything before, what can you do now?” she snapped. Thorax bit his lip but then after a moment he looked up and snapped back,

“I can change! I’ll make everything better like Sweetie Belle suggested! We won’t have to hide then and we’ll never have to worry about food or anything again!!!” Chrysalis stood upright a little surprised by his response, she wasn’t expecting Thorax to be this rebellious. Sweetie watched as Chrysalis and Thorax went back and forth and then turned her attention back to the cocoon Twilight was in she sneaked over and started to hit it with her hooves to try and make it crack open.

“What’re you doing!?” Chrysalis shouted, Sweetie turning to see her looking at her.

“Stop her at once you fools!! Don’t let her release a single pony!!!” The changelings behind Chrysalis all hissed and leapt into the air to charge at Sweetie, but to her surprise Thorax and a group of others leapt to her defense colliding with them and starting to fight them off. Sweetie fell to floor covering her head trying not to get dragged into the battle, the sound of changeling hooves above her caught her attention though and she saw a trio on the cocoon above her. She panicked thinking that she was caught but then one of the changelings spoke revealing to be Ocellus.

“Sweetie! Come on, help us get them out of here!” Ocellus shouted. Sweetie smiled and got back to her hooves, her horn glowing as she started to pull at the bottom of the cocoon while Ocellus and the other two changelings began gnawing at the sides. Chrysalis angry growled swatting aside the changelings who attempted to attack her, she turned her gaze back to Sweetie Belle and saw her trying to free Twilight.

“NO!! STOP HER!!!” she shouted again, a group of changelings flew past Chrysalis and charged at Sweetie Belle bearing their fangs. Thorax slid between them and Sweetie though and in a quick flash of magic turned into a massive bear swatting them aside.

“Traitor! All of you! Traitors! You’ll receive no mercy from me this day!!!” Chrysalis shouted as her horn glowed and she launched a burst of magic hitting Thorax and knocking him down his shapeshift canceling out as he hit the ground.

“Thorax!” Ocellus shouted as she flew to his side, Sweetie pulled as hard as she could and finally with a loud crack she finally popped open Twilight’s cocoon, the purple pony falling out and landing on top of her.

“Twilight...wake up! We need help!!” Sweetie shouted shaking her and trying to get out from under her. Sweetie Belle looked up and saw Chrysalis standing over her looking down angrily.

“You think you can turn my hive against me? Against Queen Chrysalis!!! Fool!” she shouted. Chrysalis raised her hoof and swung to strike Sweetie Belle the little filly closing her eyes and expecting the worst. But then a loud “ZAP” followed by Chrysalis screaming in pain caught her attention. Sweetie Belle looked over her shoulder when she heard the thud of Chrysalis landing behind, she looked back towards the entrance of the cave and there she Cadence a small trail of blue smoke coming off her horn, Ocellus next to her.

“Cadence!!" Sweetie shouted.

“Sorry about the scare, but her cocoon was alot thinner.” Ocellus shouted back. The sound of Chrysalis screaming quickly got both ponies attention though, as they looked to see her leap into the air and fire blasts of magic at Cadence who dodged her shots. Chrysalis charged at Cadence screaming in a fury, Cadence fired back a trio of magic blasts at Chrysalis which she dodged and closed the distance between them tackling Cadence into a wall.

“Was that your best?! What kind of Alicorn are you?! You can’t even aim straight!” she taunted, Chrysalis struck her across the face knocking her to the ground and then striking her again while she was on the ground.

“Cadence!!” Sweetie called out rushing over and angrily biting down on Chrysalis’ tail trying to pull her away, Chrysalis looked back at Sweetie Belle angry the little filly now on her last nerve. Her horn glowed and lifted Sweetie off the ground holding her upside down in front of her,

“You!! You caused all of this! You turned my hive against me!? I’ll kill you slowly for this!” she shouted. Chrysalis was about to strike Sweetie when she heard Cadence chuckle,

“What’s so funny? You’re hardly in the position to be laughing.” Chrysalis said looking at Cadence.

“Oh its funny that you thought I was aiming for you before…and you still haven’t noticed.” Cadence taunted. Chrysalis was confused by Cadence’s words,

“What’re you talking about?” she asked but then she answered by a familiar voice.

“I believe she meant us…” Chrysalis gasped in shock and turned to see Celestia and Luna standing with Thorax and Twilight their horns glowing as they were ready for a fight now.

“You managed to beat the both of us before because you ambushed us, you won’t have that advantage now.” Luna added. Chrysalis dropped Sweetie Belle and turned to face Celestia and Luna, Cadence reaching her front hooves out and catching the filly before she hit the ground. Chrysalis leaped into the air again and fired a powerful magic blast at Luna and Celestia, Twilight took a step forward and quickly put up a barrier blocking the attack and then Luna and Celestia flew in separate directions and began battling Chrysalis and her loyal drones. Sweetie quickly hugged Cadence happy to see her unharmed,

“I’m sorry I left you Cadence! I had to help every pony! I was gonna come back, I promise.” she said. Cadence nuzzled her with a smile,

“Its okay Sweetie, were all here now. So let’s find a way to stop this!” she replied before standing. Thorax and Ocellus flew over to Cadence all the while the royal sisters battled an enraged Chrysalis.

“What’re we gonna do? She’s not gonna stop until some creature dies, and I don’t think we can talk her down.” Thorax asked, Cadence tried to think for a moment but then looked up when she felt something from Ocellus and Thorax.

“Hey wait a second, you two...I think I can.” she said as she closed her eyes and began to focus her magic on the two of them. Thorax and Ocellus began to glow faintly from Cadence’s magic, Sweetie looking at Cadence confused.

“What’re you doing?” she asked.

“There’s a spark of love in these two, they love their hive so much. But it just needs...a...small...push!” Cadence struggled to say as she focused her magic and then in a flash of light Thorax and Ocellus both suddenly transformed, every creature in the cavern came to a stop as they saw Thorax and Ocellus’ new forms. Thorax now had a green body with large orange horns and wings, Ocellus a shade of baby blue and red wings. Chrysalis angrily shouted at Cadence at the sight of this,

“What did you do!? Answer me!” Cadence stood with a triumphant smirk and answered,

“Princess of Love, remember? I just made what was already there, better. Now its up to them to share it with every creature here who wants it.” Thorax and Ocellus both began to glow and one by one every changeling who sided with them began to change to match their new forms, Chrysalis watched in shock as her loyal drones numbers began to diminish one by one. She screamed in defiance and charged at Cadence again but was quickly cut off by Celestia and Luna both shooting her out of the air. Chrysalis landed with a hard crash, but recovered quickly she looked to see that more than half of her hive had changed now and some were still changing.

“NO!!! To me my loyal drones!! NOW!!!” she shrieked, the changelings loyal to Chrysalis quickly swarmed around her and in a flash of her green magics Chrysalis quickly teleported them all away. The cavern now had at least fifty changelings all in new friendlier forms standing around, they looked at one another smiling and talking about their new appearances. Celestia and Luna quickly freed the remainder of their family, while a Cadence walked up to Thorax.

“So, what’re you gonna do now?” she asked. Thorax looked at all the changelings who were looking at him he scratched the back of his head unsure.

“I don’t know...but I guess maybe we should start by letting all the ponies out of here and apologizing.” he said. Cadence gave him playful nudge and walked past him while saying,

“That’s a good start, but don’t stop there.” Cadence walked over to Shining and as he started to come to and gave him a big warm hug, kissing him on the cheek as she did.

In a flash of magic Chrysalis appeared back in her hive miles away, her drones alongside her. She fell to ground exhausted the teleports distance having left her feeling a little drained. The changelings closest to her tried to help her up but she hissed and snapped at them all for approaching her. She looked at the few still loyal to her, a mere handful compared to the army she once had. In a fit of rage she stomped the ground cracking the floor she stood on screaming in a mad fury. Then she heard the sound of hoof steps approaching she turned and saw a large figure approaching her from the shadows.

“You...this is all your fault! You sent me there! You cost me my hive!!!” she screamed, finally coming into view was none other than Grogar.

“I merely gave you information, what you chose to do with it was completely up to you. By all rights your plan should have succeeded, but you treat your minions with too little respect.” he gloated.

“You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you!? Why bother telling me where the Royal family was going to be in the first place?! What game are you planning at?!” Chrysalis shouted again, marching up to Grogar her anger now at its boiling point. Grogar wasn’t intimidated in the least however as he looked down at Chrysalis.

“Because now you see the strength of your enemy...and now you will be desperate, for numbers, allies, and for power. When the time comes, I’ll offer you the revenge you seek. Until then try not to challenge Celestia or her family again…” he said with a tone of superiority then turned opening a portal to leave.

“What?! You think I’ll just let you leave like that?! After what you cost me?” Chrysalis shouted, she launched a burst of magic at Grogar from behind but her blast missed by a second as Grogar disappeared into the portal it closing a moment later with a loud boom. Chrysalis stood furious before turning to the changelings she still had left,

“Search the hive at once!!! Find anyone who’s still here and bring them at once!!!” she shouted, her drones quickly scattered to search as instructed Chrysalis marching over and sitting on her throne. She swore to herself that she would have her revenge, on Thorax, Ocellus, and Sweetie Belle...

Author's Note

:yay: Phew, been doing alot of writing this week. But when inspiration strikes, it strikes. And I decided to take advantage of it and update my fics. Hope everyone likes how I decided to end this one, with Chryssi out of the way the House of Sun finish their vacation in the next few breather chapters I have planned. Anyway, drop some likes and maybe leave a comment or two! :trollestia:

Back to the Vacation!

A massive boom echoed throughout the room as Grogar emerged through his portal, the Storm King sat leaning against the table in the center of the room watching Grogar approach. The portal shut behind him a moment later which made the Storm King tilt his head to the side to look behind Grogar.

“Wait, you didn’t bring her? I thought you said she’d join us after all that.” he asked. Grogar walked over and began to cast his magic on the seeing stone at the center of the table the image shifting to move across the landscape of Equestria at great speed.

“I’ve given her something to think about for now, it won’t be long before she tries something against Celestia and her family and fails again. Then she’ll be desperate, she’ll beg to become a part of my alliance. Its only a matter of time now.” Grogar said. The Storm King leaned back in his chair tapping the end of his staff against the floor in an annoyed manner.

“She’d better be better than this one you already found, why does she keep talking to herself?” he asked. Grogar looked past the satyr and saw Nightmare Rarity in the corner, her front hooves on the sides of her head as she muttered to herself.

“Nightmare has lost more than half of his full power, he can’t drown out his host’s voice in his mind. So he has to listen to her talk I suppose.” Grogar explained. Storm King looked back at Nightmare and listened to her talk for a moment,

“Shut up, Shut up! I don’t care what shape your mane or coat are in...I’m not taking a shower... I just said I don’t care!!….Shut up! Shut up! Quit your insufferable whining already!!!” she shouted. Nightmare went silent for a moment before her eyes suddenly shot wide open, then let out an almost pained frustrated scream. Grogar and the Storm King both watched her in confusion before Nightmare suddenly stormed out of the room screaming to herself again.

“That was weird...I need to get back now, guessing you’ll summon me if something comes up?” the Storm King asked. Grogar nodded and a moment later he opened a portal allowing the Storm King to return to his kingdom. He walked through the portal and was instantly sent to his throne room, his lackey Grubber was standing near his throne waiting for him, and next to him a new face, a pony in a heavy black cloak the hood pulled over her head. The Storm King walked towards the two and leaned down to the pony with a smile and asked,

“So… ‘Tempest’, tell me about this spell of yours…”

A full day had passed since Chrysalis was driven out of Costa Del Bronco and the resort had finally begun to get back under way. Most of the creatures vacationing had left given the circumstances, but some had remained, and the staff was finally getting back to work to the best of their ability. Thorax and the Changelings had made themselves at home in the cavern behind the waterfall making it into a new hive for them to settle in. And some of the changelings had even volunteered to help around the resort as an apology. The House of Sun naturally got back to relaxing and enjoying the last bit of their vacation as they still had four days left before they needed to return to Canterlot. Spike and Sweetie eagerly rushed through the forest making their way to the waterfall, a few changelings were outside the cave setting up huts and a few other things to make their stay more comfortable. Sweetie and Spike rushed up to the waterfall and then Sweetie shouted out loud,

“Ocellus! Come on out! We’re gonna go to the beach today!” The little filly bouncing with excitement a few seconds later Ocellus flew out of the cave landing next to them.

“Hi guys! Thanks for inviting me again!” she said,

“Well were friends aren’t we? It’s only natural we’d bring you along!” Spike replied. The three eagerly sprinted off making their way to the beach, Spike went to the kiosk as the edge and got a few towels while Sweetie took Ocellus with her to find a spot for them to set up the umbrella and their things.

“So what are we gonna do exactly? I’ve never been to the beach before.” Ocellus asked. Sweetie Belle hugged the blue bug and with a smile she explained,

“We play, obviously! Now come on, last one in the water is a rotten egg!” Sweetie then turned darted off to the water Spike following behind, Ocellus watched for a moment but then was quick follow jumping into the water alongside her friends.

Twilight was packing up a few of her things, Sunset, Shining, Cadence in the hut with her.

“Okay, today’s the day we get to tackle the hiking trail. You all set Sunset?” she asked.

“Twi, I’ve been ready for almost an hour you’re the one who’s taking her time packing too much. Let’s go already.” Sunset replied. Twilight threw her saddlebag across her back and trot over to the door,

“What’re you and Cadence doing today Shining?” she asked.

“I was thinking we’d go see the galleria, something nice and quiet for the two of us to do together today.” Cadence said, which Shining nodded in agreement.

“Well you two have fun, just remember were eating dinner together later tonight.” Twilight said, she turned and opened the door and was suddenly greeted by a tall snake like creature in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses they were all to familiar with.

“Hello my little ponies! So sorry I’m late, traffic was such a mess on the way to the resort. I’m guessing that I’ll be bunking with my friends Shining and Spike? All us boys together getting into trouble while the mares are away?” Discord said as he walked into the hut a second later an overloaded suitcase floating in behind him. Every pony stood staring in disbelief at his sudden appearance, and then Twilight suddenly snapped at him.

“You show up now of all times!? Discord! We could’ve used your help two days ago!” Discord took off his sunglasses and looked down at Twilight almost offended.

“Well what kind of greeting is that to give a friend? And what was so important two days ago that I needed to be here? Hmm?” he asked. Twilight tried to answer only to find herself just stuttering and unable to give a straight explanation let alone answer Discord. She finally just let out a frustrated groan and walked past him,

“Never mind, Sunset and I have to get to the hiking trail kiosk before it starts. Just try and behave while your here Discord.” she said. Twilight looked back to see Discord now dressed in a white robe, a harp in one hand, a plastic halo above his head.

“Oh trust me Twilight, I wouldn’t ruin any pony’s vacation today. I’m just here to have some fun with my friends. Isn't that right, Shining?” he asked. Shining looked back at Twilight a slightly nervous look on his face. Twilight rolled her eyes and walked out of the hut Sunset following her close.

“Well I guess we better get going too Shining.” Cadence said,

“Umm, you go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a second okay, Cady?” he asked. Cadence looked at Discord then Shining before nodding with a smile and trotting off leaving the two alone in the hut. A moment after the door shut Discord snapped his fingers making his suitcase, shirt, and sunglasses vanish and turned to Shining arms crossed,

“Alright I’m here, so I’m guessing were still going along with your grand plan for dinner tonight?” Discord asked with a grin,

“Yeah, we are. Just remember to do just like you promised, and no making things go bad alright? I really want this all to be perfect tonight.” Shining said. Discord slid up beside Shining grabbing his shoulder and pulling him close,

“Oh Shining Armor, my dear friend, as Lord of Chaos and Discord I promise you this night will go exactly how you want it. I just hope you’ll remember to hold up my end of the bargain later on.” Discord said with a grin. Shining nodded in approval,

“You do this for me Discord, and I’ll get every pony to come through on my end of the deal.” Shining answered. Discord sprang to his mismatched feet and clapped his hands together,

“Oh this is going to be sooo much fun! Just you wait, now you and Cadence go have some fun together. I think I’ll go spend time with my favorite dragon and his little filly friend before dinner." Discord said before holding up his hand and vanishing with a snap of his fingers.

Night time had finally come and every creature was at the resort pier, the pier also doubled as a restaurant and at night every creature sat outside in order to watch the fireworks go off. The House of Sun had been split into the three tables on the farthest side of the pier overlooking the ocean below. Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Sunset were together at the first table, Spike, Sweetie, and Discord at the next, and finally Cadence and Shining at the last in clear view of the other tables. Spike leaned back in his chair rubbing his full belly,

“Oh that was so good, we need to teach the castle cooks how to make food like this I could eat it all day.” he sighed. Sweetie reached over and rubbed his belly playfully,

“You can’t eat like this all the time, you’ll get fat! And I like you small enough that I can hug you Spike!” Sweetie teased. Every pony was talking to one another when Discord looked over at Shining who smiled and gave a subtle nod, Discord held up his hand and with a snap of his fingers a set of musical instruments appeared behind Shining and Cadence playing soothing, romantic music. The lights on the pier now dulling save for those focused on Shining and Cadence’s table. Every pony looked around confused by what Discord was up to all of a sudden, Twilight stood up and looked at Discord angrily,

“Hey! What are you planning now Discord? We’re trying to…” before she could finish though Discord stretched over pressing his finger against her mouth and shushing her.

“Trust me Twilight, you’re not going to want to interrupt this part…” Discord teased. Shining cleared his throat and turned to face Cadence holding her hooves in his,

“Cadence, you’ve been such an amazing mare ever since I met you. That day when I lost track of Twilight and first saw you playing with her while she waited for me was a special day unlike any other for me, because it would be the first of many other days that I would get to spend with you. I’ve always loved you Cadence, and I hope that you’ve always felt the same way about me. Which is why I want to spend even more days together with you, now and forever…”

Shining said, before he knelt down in front of Cadence. His horn glowed and a small velvet box levitated up between the two before opening to reveal the engagement pendant that had his and Cadence’s cutie marks.

Every pony watching gasped in awe at this sudden surprise as Shining looked up and asked. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, will you marry?” A sudden hush fell over the pier before Cadence suddenly leaned down and kissed Shining on the mouth before slowly pulling away and saying with a love struck smile,

“Yes...”

Author's Note

Sry this one took so long to post, I got super distracted this month and didn't remember until a few days ago. Tried to stretch it out as much as I could to make up for that though. Also managed to accomplish one of my goals for this story which was to incorporate Rarity's "complaining, not whining" moment. :raritywink: Which I'm sure you can tell Nightmare regrets who he chose to hide inside of now. Anyway, be sure to leave some comments and drop a like or two. I'll try and make the next update quicker than this one. :yay:

First Flight

“Come on Twilight! Its easy, see?” Ocellus shouted as she hovered next to Cadence. Twilight stood near the edge of the waterfall looking down her wings spread out but she wasn’t moving.

“Yeah, its easy...just gotta flap my wings, and step off the ledge...that’s all. Just gotta keep it simple.” Twilight said nervously as she looked down at the water below. Twilight knew Cadence wouldn’t let her get hurt from this and the water below was deep enough that if she fell she’d only get wet. But it still didn’t make it easier knowing she’d have try and step off the ledge and fly. Sweetie sat a short distance away watching Twilight,

“You’re gonna try to fly though right? Cadence and Ocellus are right there to help Twilight.” Sweetie asked. Twilight took a nervous step towards the edge and looked up at Cadence smiling and waiting for her.

“Yeah, I will...just...just need to get the nerves to do it.” Twilight replied. A second later a flash of magic popped up beside Sweetie revealing Sunset who shouted as loud as she could,

“TWILIGHT JUMP!!!” Sunset shouted. In a panic Twilight leapt forward and over the ledge, the moment she realized her hooves weren’t over solid ground anymore she frantically began to flap her wings eventually rising up to Cadence and Ocellus’ level. Twilight was flapping her wings fast and hard the look of panic on her face only lessened, but then she lifted her head and shouted back.

“That wasn’t funny Sunset!!!” Sunset and Sweetie giggled in response however. Cadence flew over to Twilight and held her front her hooves lifting her up a little higher.

“She got you in the air though? Look, your flying just fine.” Cadence reassured her, Twilight looked around her and saw how far up she was and was genuinely surprised.

“Now try moving a little, fly over to Ocellus.” Cadence said as she moved to the side giving Twilight a clear path. Twilight looked over at Ocellus who waved back,

“Okay...just need to move forward...just a short distance, nothing big.” Twilight said, the unease in her voice returning.

“You can do it Twilight!” Sweetie shouted,

“Go on, its not even ten hooves! You got it Twi.” Sunset added. Twilight began to move away from Cadence slowly, her flying was unbalanced she constantly bobbed up and down in the air occasionally wobbling from side to side. Twilight was flapping her wings too hard though and she was getting tired quick, just as she was about halfway to Ocellus she suddenly dropped plummeting to the water below. Every creature shouted in a small panic as Twilight fell the purple horse shrieking as she tried to get herself airborne again. Just as she was about to hit the water though she found herself slowing to a stop. She opened her eyes and saw a green glow around her, Sunset standing near the waters edge her horn glowing.

“Oh come on, you didn’t think we were gonna let you fall did you?” she asked Twilight. Ocellus and Cadence flew down to Twilight, Sweetie on Cadence’s back,

“Are you okay Twilight? You’re not hurt are you?” Cadence asked.

Twilight shook her head no, “My wings just got tired, I think I was flapping them too much.” she answered.

“Well that’s alright, it is your first time trying to fly. We’ll get you to do some wing-ups and other exercises later, build up your wings strength. It’ll help out a lot I promise.” Cadence said. Twilight groaned in response to Cadence saying she’d need to do exercise,

“Do I really have to? What if I decide to just not to use my wings? I can still teleport just fine.” Twilight asked, before Cadence could answer though the glow around Twilight vanished and she dropped like a rock into the water below a moment later her head popping out of the water as she gasped for air.

“Sunset! Not funny!” she shouted. Sunset trot over and helped Twilight out of the water and fixing the front of her mane so she could see better.

“Well maybe you should remember that next time you take the attitude of ‘Not gonna use my wings’. You’re an Alicorn now Twilight and whether you like it or not you’re probably gonna need to use those wings of yours one day.” Sunset said. Twilight wanted to argue with Sunset but like usual, she knew that her friend was right, instead she smiled and nodded.

Cadence and Ocellus landed next to the two and with a smile Cadence spoke up. “How about we take a break and get something to eat? Its almost lunch time, plus we’ve got one day left of vacation before we head back to Canterlot. We need to make the most of the last little bit of vacation we have left.” Every creature nodded in agreement with Cadence, Sweetie springing up onto her hooves on Cadence’s back.

“Can we get hayburgers? I want something yummy for lunch today! None of that fancy stuff we’ve been eating for dinner.” she asked. Sunset and Twilight smiled at one another as they all began to walk to the food court.

“I think we could make that happen.”

Celestia and Luna sat on the edge of the beach, Luna taking a sip of the Iced tea she had before turning to her sister.

“I have to admit, Twilight and Sunset were right. This was exactly what we both needed, a weeks vacation just to unwind and not have to worry about anything.” Luna said. Celestia nodded in agreement before lifting her sunglasses to look at her sister,

“I agree completely, and I certainly wasn’t expecting Shining to propose to Cadence the way he did. Though I am curious as to how he got Discord to help him. I half expected him to do something that would make things, well...chaotic. But I guess Spike, Shining, and Cadence are proving to be a good influence on him after all.” Celestia replied. The two princesses sat watching all the other ponies on the beach going about their day enjoying the soft breeze and sound of the waves gently crashing against the shore.

“As much as I love the moments like this I feel can’t help but shake this bad feeling I’ve got. It just feels like were missing something, like some pony is conspiring against us without our knowing. Before I became Nightmare Moon, beings like Discord or Chrysalis were never so bold. Do you remember Tia? There was always a long period of harmony before the next threat managed to rise up. But now…” Luna said a worried tone to her voice now.

Celestia leaned back in her chair and looked up at the sky and said, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think the same. But, I also feel a lot better about it now than I did then. All those years ago it was just us, we didn’t have any other pony to rely on when things got bad. But now we have Twilight, Spike, Cadence, Shining, and even Sunset Shimmer to help us when these threats rise up.” Luna leaned back in her chair looking at the sky along with her sister,

“That’s true, I should worry less I suppose. I have the utmost confidence that Twilight and Sunset are both destined for great things in the years to come. I mean, Twilight’s become an alicorn with little help from either of us. And I know that Sunset has that same potential in her, she just needs to find what it is that’ll give her that final push is all. Then I’m certain she’ll be a better princess than Twilight even on her worst day.” Luna snickered looking at her sister with a sly grin. Celestia looked back at Luna with a slight competitive grin as well,

“Oh I don’t think so, my little Twilight is the best pony around. Sunset won’t ever get the better of her for long.” she replied. A brief silence fell over the two mares before they both leaned back in their chairs again and laughed loudly.

“Oh it doesn’t matter who’s better, what matters is what they do with their gifts.” Celestia said. Luna turned her head to the side and licked her lips seeing the ice cream stand a short distance away.

“I’m going to get some ice cream, do you want some too?” Luna said as she got up to get her snack.

“I’m fine, but better be careful last thing you want is the papers publishing articles about your favorite snack Luna. I’ve been there before, and it tends to stick in the minds of every pony.” Celestia said. Luna rolled her eyes, doubting her sisters words and trot off to get herself a sweet treat.

Elsewhere a trio of black airships slowly began to lift from the dock where they rested, on board the lead ship a purple mare clad in black armor walked to the front of the ship to look ahead in the direction of their destination.

“How long until we reach Canterlot Grubber?” she asked, the small yet walked beside her nervously twiddling his fingers.

“It’ll be a few days, we have to stay in the cover of the storm clouds otherwise we’ll give away the ships presence before were even halfway there commander Tempest.” he said nervously. Tempest took a few more steps forward and then paused to reach for the broken horn on her head,

“That’s fine, I’ve waited this long...I can wait a little longer.” she answered.

Author's Note

:yay: Sorry for the late update, I totally forgot to post this early in the month. Long story short, I got caught up in playing FF14 with friends and my schedule at work has been all over the place. I know I always say I'll try and post sooner next time, but I'll try and make the effort this time. Next few chapters should be a small arc involving the House of Sun making their way back to Ponyville before returning to Canterlot. :raritywink: Anyway, like always leave me a few comments and some likes. And I hope you enjoyed the newest update.

Return to Ponyville

Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap loaded the last of the Royal Families luggage into their hot air balloon, Sugarcoat and Sunny Flare stood before Celestia and Luna, smiles on their faces.

“Thank you again for choosing Costa Del Bronco for you vacation needs Princess. And despite the circumstances, we do hope that we’ll see you again next time you choose to take your vacaction.” Sunny Flare said with a bright smile.

“Its no worries at all Ms. Flare, things were a little unexpected but it did work out nicely and we did enjoy ourselves. We’ll be sure to let you know if and when we take our next vacation.” Celestia replied, Luna nodding in agreement beside her. Twilight and the others stood with Ocellus, Thorax, and a few of the other changelings saying their goodbyes as well.

“Take care of yourself Ocellus, you too Thorax. If you ever need any help, don’t be afraid to contact us. We’ll come running if you do, its the least we can do to return the favor.” Twilight said. Ocellus hugged Sweetie Belle and Spike tight a smile on her face,

“I’m gonna miss you guys, you’ve helped us sooo much. You’ll come back and visit again, right?” Ocellus asked.

“Of course we will! I’ll write letters every chance I get once we get back, Spike can even send them using his magic.” Sweetie replied, Spike nodding in agreement. Every pony had said their goodbyes and finally it was time to leave, the hot air balloon lifted off the ground and gently began to move eastward back towards Canterlot. Twilight had the map out as she sat between Sweetie Belle and Celestia,

“So it should take us about two days to get back home, with just enough time to get some last minute relaxation done before we have to get back to work.” Twilight explained. Sweetie Belle leaned over looking at the map and noticing they’d be passing by Ponyville again,

“Could we stop by Ponyville again? I wanted to see my friends again, and its on the way Twilight.” she asked. Twilight looked over the map thinking for a moment but then Luna spoke up.

“I don’t see any reason why not, I think it’d be a lovely way to end our vacation. Don’t you Twilight?” Luna said. Twilight was a bit unsure about altering the course and schedule she’d plotted out but at the same time she didn’t want to say no Sweetie Belle.

“Okay, I think we can make a quick stop. Canterlot can take care of itself for just a little bit longer.” she said as she gently pat Sweetie on the head with a smile.

A full day had passed and it was about noon when Twilight looked over the side of the balloon, below she could see the Everfree Forest, Apple Acres Farm, Ponyville, and lastly on the horizon was Canterlot.

“Hey! We're almost there, we should start to lower the balloon. We can land right outside of Apple Acres and say hello to Applejack before we head into town.” Twilight announced, Sweetie Belle and Spike quickly looked over the side of the balloon with Twilight smiles on their faces, Shining then began to let air out of the balloon to land the balloon. When they were finally on the ground Sweetie and Spike eagerly hopped out and rushed to the front gates of Apple Acres,

“Hey! Wait up you two! We’re supposed to stay together!” Sunset shouted as the others climbed out one at a time. Twilight and Cadence caught up to the two quick as they finally reached the front gates. They all looked around but didn’t see Applejack, Applebloom, or Big Mac anywhere nearby.

“Maybe...they’re in town?” Twilight asked, as they approached their house. Twilight knocked on the front door and a few seconds later the door opened to reveal Granny Smith,

“Oh well hi there Princesses, what brings y’all back out this way? Come fer some more Apple family hospitality?” she asked.

Twilight nodded in response, “Yup, we were also wondering where Applejack is. I didn’t see her anywhere out here.” Granny Smith pointed down the road towards the center of the town,

“She and Big Macintosh went into town, some city pony came into town the other day and now they’ve got every pony all riled up about something. Probably best if ya go see fer’ yerself.” she said. Twilight turned to face her family,

“Do you think we should check things out?” she asked.

“It’s probably nothing, but you all go on ahead. Luna and I will stay here, it might be best if we're not there to make a bigger scene.” Celestia said. Every pony nodded in agreement and they decided to head into Ponyville to see what was happening.

As the group made their way to the center of town they soon noticed the large crowd outside of the town hall.

“Wow, it looks like the whole town is out here. What’s going on?” Sunset asked as they approached. As they got closer Sweetie Belle and Spike saw Scootaloo standing near two older mares and called out to her.

“Scootaloo! Hey! It’s me!” the little orange filly and the mares beside her turned to look, and almost instantly Scootaloo’s face lit up with a smile.

“Sweetie Belle! You’re here! And you brought Spike! Maybe you can help us fix this!” she said as she ran over and hugged her friends.

Twilight and Sunset looked at one another puzzled before Twilight asked, “Fix what? Is something wrong?”

Scootaloo nodded and pointed towards the town hall, “Some pony is trying to destroy Ponyville!” she said, Twilight and the others were confused by her words but then one of the mares with her spoke up.

“Its a little more complicated than that Scootaloo. Hi, I’m Holiday and this is my wife Lofty, were Scootaloo’s guardians.” Twilight greeted the two back and then Holiday went on to explain what was happening to her. “A rich pony from Canterlot came into town two days ago, he’s planning on buying the land where the nearby gem stone caves are. Every pony in town is against it though, but he won’t listen to a word we say.” Holiday said.

“I don’t understand, if those caves are outside of town why does his buying the land mean anything?” Sunset asked.

“The problem is that he’d also be buying up half of the Everfree forest and the area where the train tracks leading towards Canterlot are at. Which means they’d have to redirect the train tracks while he strips the land for those stupid gems he wants so bad.” Lofty added. Every pony looked at the two mares in shock,

“And if that happens it would effect your best way of getting the local businesses to and from Canterlot wouldn’t it? You’d either have to take another train north or south first, or get their by hoof and wagon wouldn't it?” Cadence asked. Holiday and Lofty nodded in agreement,

“And that’d put a lot of local businesses that go back and forth to Canterlot in danger, maybe even out of business. So you can see why were all worried.” Holiday said. Twilight then stood up straight a confident smile,

“Don’t worry, we’ll go talk to this pony ourselves and see if we can’t change his mind.” Twilight said. Twilight and Cadence politely made their way to the front of the crowd, most of the ponies their watching in shock as two members of the House of Sun approached the town hall. Standing at the entrance was an older mare with a tan coat and white hair, a pair of glasses resting on her muzzle.

“Hi there, I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is Princess Cadence. I was wondering if it’d be possible for us to talk to the stallion from Canterlot who’s been causing all this unrest.” Twilight asked, the older mare stood in shock and awe for a moment but then composed herself.

“Oh of course, Princess, um, right this way. Maybe you can convince him to listen to every pony here.” the mare said turning to open the door to the town hall. She guided Twilight and Cadence inside leading them to one of the offices near the back.

“I’ve been doing my best to try and keep every pony calm during all this, but it hasn’t been easy. A lot of the businesses in town rely on the trains to receive and deliver goods to and from Canterlot you see.” the mare explained.

“Have you explained that to him? Maybe he doesn’t understand the severity of what he’s doing.” Cadence said. The three reached the door to the office, and the mare paused to face them the look on her face being distraught.

“We’ve had almost every pony in town trying to explain this to him, but he only cares about the gem stone caverns and the bits he'd get from them. I hope you can convince him otherwise.” she said. Twilight and Cadence smiled at one another then looked back at the mare.

“I doubt there’s any pony who would be brave enough to tell us no.” Twilight said. The mare turned and pushed the office door open, inside the room was a long table with all the most important ponies in Ponyville sitting around the table, Twilight immediately recognizing Applejack among them. Then she looked at the far end of the table where two Canterlot soldiers stood along with a very familiar white unicorn who spoke up at the sight of Cadence and Twilight.

“Ah, Twilight, Cadence, so good to see you both. What brings you out here to this backwoods pony town?” he said. Twilight and Cadence stood in shock, both their mouths agape, before Twilight finally said the name of the stallion they were looking at.

“Blueblood?!”

Author's Note

:trixieshiftleft: Yup, Blueblood is back unfortunately. Sorry this took so long, although post it sooner than the last update like I promised (only a few days though :raritydespair: ). I did try to get this up sooner but I've been busy with my job and had little to no free time to write. Hopefully this doesn't happen again in the near future and I can get the updates up faster, but I can't say for sure. In the mean time I do hope you enjoy this newest chapter and leave a few likes and comments as always. :pinkiehappy:

Getting the better of Blueblood

Twilight and Cadence stood in shock, this was the last pony they’d expect to be here in Ponyville. Worse yet, they knew convincing Blueblood would not go over easily. Applejack got out of her seat as well as a well dressed stallion.

“Twilight, its great to see ya again Sugarcube. But do y’all think ya could help us out here. Is there somethin' you can do?” Applejack asked, the stallion next to her politely bowed and introduced himself next.

“Greeting your majesty, I’m Filthy Rich. I’m sure you heard what’s happening in town. Can you help us in any way? My business and many others in Ponyville are in danger of this whole arrangement.” he said. Twilight looked past the two ponies and then walked over to Blueblood.

“Hi Blueblood, um...I’m sure you’ve heard what the situation is. Have you maybe considered other ways to get the gems from those caves that you want?” Twilight asked, Blueblood looked over the papers in front of him a smug grin on his face as he did.

“Like what? Spend the extra bits to build a mine shaft? While I am truly sorry about the ponies in this town’s small businesses, the amount of bits waiting in those caves is worth far more bits than anything this town has to offer. Its also far more cost effective simply to strip the land and get the gems that way. But I’m sure of course you want to help them, so feel free to look over all the paperwork if you want. Its all there and completely legitimate Twilight. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to retire to my hotel room for the day. I could use a shower after spending so much time in this dusty old town hall.” Blueblood said with an even more smug grin, before getting up and walking away, his guards following close. When Blueblood finally left Twilight sat down and started to read through all the paperwork Blueblood had mentioned, Applejack walked over to Twilight standing next to her.

“Isn’t there anything y’all can do? We gotta make this work somehow.” Applejack asked. Twilight looked up concerned, she really did want to help but she would need time to sort through everything.

“I promise we’ll do everything we can to fix this, but I’ll need to read through all the paperwork for any potential loopholes or anything else Blueblood might have overlooked first.” Twilight explained. Cadence suddenly perked up with a smile,

“What about the forest? Or maybe there’s something that would need to be preserved nearby that could prevent this?” she asked.

“Cadence! That’s a great idea, I’ll stay here with Mayor Mare and go over all the paperwork. You get Shiny, and the others and start combing the town for anything like that. If we all work together I'm sure we can find a way to put a stop to all of this!” Twilight announced.

Cadence and Applejack came trotting out of the town hall, most of the ponies had left after Twilight and her went inside. Shining and the others quickly rushed up,

“Well? Is everything okay? Did Twilight figure something out?” Shining asked Cadence.

She shook her head, “No...and its worse than we thought. The pony from Canterlot is Blueblood of all ponies…” Cadence explained. Shining and Sunset’s faces turned into looks of annoyance and anger equally,

“Oh great, if it were any pony else we might have had a chance of fixing this. But him? What are our options?” Sunset asked. Cadence was quick to explain to Twilight’s idea which got every pony thinking.

“Okay, so I’ll go check out the library and do some research on the town. See what I can dig up there. Shining, you, Applejack, and Spike go ask around and see if any pony knows anything that could help. We should also see if maybe Everfree forest has any endangered animals that need protecting too, its a long shot but it’s worth looking into.” Sunset said with a smile.

“Oh! If its about animals, Scootaloo and I know who you could talk to! Fluttershy! She loves animals, she’ll have to know something.” Sweetie Belle announced.

“Okay then every pony, let’s get to work and save Ponyville!” Sunset said before they all split up and ran off.

Cadence followed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to the far side of Ponyville where there was a lone cottage not far from the edge of the forest. Cadence paused and looked at the forest and how big it was, she then walked up to the front door of Fluttershy’s house as Scootaloo knocked on the door. The three stood there for a moment and no pony answered,

“Is she not home?” Cadence asked, Sweetie and Scootaloo looked at one another thinking.

“Fluttershy’s usually home this time though. Maybe she’s just not inside her house, let’s go look for her.” Scootaloo said. Before Cadence could say anything though the two fillies quickly darted off,

“Wait, she’s probably just out back of her house girls…” Cadence said. But the two were already gone and couldn’t hear her. Cadence then walked around the side of the cottage and to the back where there was a fenced in area with chickens running about. Cadence quickly noticed the yellow pegasus trying to herd the chickens into their coop, after a few seconds though she suddenly seemed to stomp her hoof and glare at them which caused them to quickly get in line and go into their coop. Cadence was a little surprised at first but then she walked over to the pony to introduce herself.

“Um, hello there. My name’s Cadence, I was wondering are you Fluttershy by chance?” she asked. The pegasus turned and looked up at Cadence and instantly shirked a little at the sight of the larger alicorn.

“Oh um...yes, that’s me. I’m…” her voice was soft and quiet and mid sentence she got too quiet for Cadence to really hear what she’d said.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch all that. Did you say that you were Fluttershy?” Cadence asked again, the pony turned her head a little looking away and spoke again, this time a little quieter which Cadence still couldn’t hear her. Cadence was trying to be polite but it was getting harder to hear her talk,

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” she politely asked. The little pegasus finally tucked her head beneath one of her wings, this time when she spoke up it came out as more of a series of squeaks than actual words. Cadence wasn’t sure what to do now, this pony was super timid and she was starting to feel bad trying to force conversation out of her.

“Fluttershy!” a familiar voice shouted, Cadence breathed a deep sigh of relief when she heard Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo return the two fillies running up to Fluttershy. The sight of the two fillies almost instantly change Fluttershy’s attitude as she knelt down to nuzzle and hug the two,

“Oh Sweetie Belle, I didn’t know you came back to Ponyville. Is Rarity here with you?” she asked. Sweetie Belle got a bit nervous when she was asked about her sister,

“Oh, Rarity...is...away right now. I’m staying with Cadence and her family for now.” she explained, Cadence took a step forward offering to shake hooves with Fluttershy again.

“Hi, I’m sorry if I scared you before. I’m Cadence, its nice to meet you.” Cadence said as the two shook hooves.

“Fluttershy, we need your help! Do you know if there are any animals in the forest that don’t exist anywhere else? We need to know so we can save Ponyville.” Scootaloo announced. Fluttershy looked a little confused by the sudden question, but Cadence was quick to explain everything to her.

“Some pony is trying to tear down most of Everfree forest and dig up most of the land nearby. We were hoping maybe there was a chance that some endangered species or rare animal might be in the forest that needed protection and help us stop it.” Fluttershy paused to think for a moment,

“Oh no, there’s nothing like that in Everfree forest. The occasional cockatrice, or timber wolf maybe, but nothing that would be considered rare or endangered I’m afraid.” Fluttershy replied. Cadence’s ears drooped when she heard her answer,

“Oh that’s too bad, but...maybe Sunset is having more look finding something.” Cadence said.

Sunset was sitting in the library a stack of books scattered all around her, one on the table in front of her as she kept reading to try and find something, she hated doing research like this it was always more Twilight’s thing than hers. The sound of the library door opening got her attention and she looked up to see Twilight entering the library a somber look on her face.

“Guessing you haven’t had any luck either, huh Twi?” Sunset asked. Twilight walked up to the table in front of Sunset and banged her forehead against the table in frustration,

“No...Blueblood’s paperwork and claim to ownership of the land is practically flawless...unless we find something that we can use against him there’s nothing we can do to stop all this…” Twilight groaned. Sunset sat looking at her friend concerned, and then reached over and pat her on the back of her head.

“Hey, don’t give up just yet. Maybe, the others will find something that we can use to our advantage. We promised to help Applejack and every pony else remember? We’re gonna help them, even if we have to construct a bridge going over everything Blueblood’s planning we’ll make this work.” Sunset said. Twilight looked up and smiled a bit, hearing her friend’s words being what she needed right now, Twilight then grabbed a book and began to help Sunset research Ponyville’s history. A moment later the door to the library swung open, Applejack, Shining, and Spike came running inside and up to Twilight.

“Twilight! We think we found something! You gotta come see!” Spike announced,

“What? Where? And who told you about it?” Sunset asked.

Shining walked up to Sunset a grin on his face, “Well, we were asking around town like we said we would. Applejack went to ask Granny Smith if she might know something, and then Mom and Aunt Luna suggested something big. You gotta come see, there’s no way this won’t work.” Shining said with a smile.

Twilight and Sunset stood up to follow as they started to walk out of the Everfree forest Twilght finally asked, “Where exactly is this place or thing at anyway?”

Shining smiled and eagerly answered, “Smack dab in the middle of the Everfree forest, wait til you see it.”

Author's Note

Okay I hope you guys don't hate me for this, but actually had this chapter all done about two weeks ago and completely forgot to post it the next day. It was just this morning that I actually checked to see why I hadn't gotten any comments and saw that I never actually posted the update. So big sorry for slacking off like that, also my hype for Gen 5's debut didn't help me remember about this either. But here is the newest update, hope you all enjoy it

The Forgotten Castle

Twilight and Sunset followed the others closely staying on the trail Applejack had told them about, Everfree Forest wasn’t a safe place and traversing it always required a degree of caution.

“Look! There it is!” Spike shouted, the group finally reached the clearing and to Twilight and Sunset’s surprise there stood the ruins of a large castle. Every pony came to a slow stop to look in awe, Twilight studying every inch she could until she noticed the insignia of the Sun and Moon above the entrance.

“Wow...what is this place?” Twilight asked.

“The Castle of the Two sisters, this is where Luna and I used to live before Canterlot.” Celestia said as she and Luna came into view at the doorway. Twilight and the others walked inside following closely,

“This has been here the whole time? How come you never said anything before? I can’t imagine how much history this place has within these walls.” Twilight said. When she looked at Celestia though she noticed the sad look on her face,

“I stopped living here after Luna...well...after Nightmare Moon appeared the first time.” Celestia answered. Twilight walked up and put her hoof on her mother’s shoulder,

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. But you don’t have to talk about it anymore, I understand.” Twilight said.

The group split into two Twilght, AppleJack, and Shining going with Celestia while Spike and Sunset followed Luna. Sunset couldn’t help but notice the smile on Luna’s face as they walked through the old halls of the castle.

“So what’s got you so excited?” Sunset asked, Luna paused and looked back at the two before reaching over pushing a hidden switch on the wall revealing a trap door.

“I used to have so much in this castle as a filly, Celestia and I made sure there was always something to do. We were still adjusting to being the rulers of Equestria and our free time together was almost as important as ruling the nation.” Luna said. Luna stepped into the hidden doorway and hopped onto the slide on the other side gliding down to the next room, Spike eagerly followed after Luna, Sunset showing a small bit hesitation and went down the slide last. When the three reached the end of the slide another hidden door opened depositing them in a long hallway. Luna happily giggled and danced in place a little,

“Oh this is so much fun being back here, I still remember where all the passages and fun parts are all at!” Luna exclaimed,

“You two made your castle into a fun house? I can’t begin to describe how unlike a princess that is.” Sunset snickered.

“Well Tia and I were still pretty young when we moved here, I’d like to think that was a big influence on our design choices.” Luna said as she walked down the hall, but then she came to a sudden stop at an empty room. The happy look on her face turning sad all of a sudden, Sunset and Spike approached cautiously and looked inside the room. The roof and ceiling was completely blown out, the furniture in disarray, and in the middle of the room two cracks with hoof prints at the center of a crescent moon insignia on the floor. Sunset put her hoof Luna’s shoulder and looked at her.

“Oh wow...this, this is where it happened...isn’t it?” Sunset asked.

Luna nodded, “Yes...I...I was so angry at Celestia that day...I just...I just wanted her to leave me alone...but then…” Luna whimpered. A single tear started to form in her eye but then Spike leaned over and hugged her tight, Luna looked down at Spike and saw the smile on his face and she cheered up right away.

“Thank you Spike, I really shouldn’t think like that anymore. I’ve made mistakes, but every pony does that. I’m not that mare anymore, and my past is not today. Don’t ever forget that Sunset, and you too Spike. Every pony has the potential to change and be better tomorrow than they were yesterday.” Luna said.

Twilight’s group had found their way to the old library in the castle Applejack and Shining were looking out at the forest through one of the broken windows. Celestia sat and watched as Twilight went from bookshelf to bookshelf in the library making notes excitedly.

“I can’t believe you just left all these here, there’s so much history and magical lore in these old books.! I won’t be able to get all this done just today, I’ll have to come back and sort and categorize them all. Then I’ll take the ones with high value back to Canterlot and file the others at the Ponyville library! There’s so much to do in this one room alone!!!” Twilight squealed with excitement. Celestia giggled at the sight of her daughter having such a fun time, then she scratched her chin for a moment and trot over to a nearby wall flipping a switch to reveal a single book on a pedestal.

“What’s that one? Its not a spell tome written by Starswirl the bearded or something is it?” Twilight asked, Celestia walked over and set the book down in front of her daughter, Shining walked over to see what it was as well. Twilight began to flip through the pages reading and after a short while realized it was a journal written by Celestia and Luna.

“Oh wow, you two kept a journal together! I can’t believe it.” Twilight said.

“Luna and I lived in a small farming village before this, it was a big adjustment and she thought we should keep a journal to remind us of all the fun times we were going to have here. And I must admit, those days were some of the most fun I’ve had. The two of us playing in our spare time, using the slides and hidden passages to duck out of studying with our teacher. Playing jokes on the guards by sending them somewhere in the castle and then getting there before them using those passages, I remember the confused looks on their faces always made Luna laugh.” Celestia said with a smile. Twilight flipped through a few more of the pages in the journal but then Shining nudged his sister.

“Hey, do you think this all would be enough to help out every pony back in town? We’re still on tight schedule don’t forget.” he asked, Twilight paused to think for a moment but then quickly smiled.

“I need Spike, I have to send a letter or two to the right pony but I think I have a way to make this work!” she announced before springing to her hooves and rushing out of the room.

The next morning Blueblood walked towards the town his usual smug grin on his face, his guards following close by. The stallion was a little puzzled at how no pony in the town was trying to talk to him or harass him like the last few days he’d been here. When he reached the town hall he found Twilight, Cadence, and Shining all standing out front with Applejack and Filthy Rich.

To his surprise Twilight turned to greet him with a smile, “Oh Blueblood, I’m glad your here. We were just about to come get you as a matter of fact.” She said. Blueblood suspected the pony was up to something but he also was confident that there was nothing she could do to stop his purchase either.

“Oh is that so? Come to admit defeat humbly I presume? That’s awfully proper of you Twilight, now if you’ll excuse me I have to make sure the last of the paper work is all in order for my purchase.” Blueblood said. Blueblood was about halfway up the stairs when the doors to the town hall opened to reveal Mayor Mare and Fancy Pants talking to one another, this came as a genuine shock and he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Fancy Pants?! What, what’re you doing here?” Blueblood asked.

Fancy Pants turned to look at Blueblood but quickly replied, “Oh excuse Mayor, I’ll return in one moment. Blueblood, so good to see you again. I got a letter from Princess Twilight just last night, and must I say, I’m certainly glad she sent it when she did. Another few days and we might have lost an important piece of Equestrian history.” Blueblood looked at Twilight then back Fancy Pants a small bead of sweat building on the side of his head,

“What? What do you mean? There’s nothing like that in THIS town, if there was I’d, um, I’d have surely contacted you first.” Blueblood stuttered, he was lying through his teeth right now but also had to keep up appearances in front of a stallion as influential as Fancy Pants.

“Well as you know Blueblood, I am a valued member of the Equestrian historical preservation society, and maintaining the importance of our history takes top priority.” Fancy Pants explained as he approached, “And just yesterday Twilight was told by her mother, Princess Celestia herself, that their old castle resides not far from here. Right in the Everfree Forest in fact! Why, if they hadn’t spoken up your workers might have torn down the section of the Forest where it resides, can you imagine?” he explained. Blueblood began to sweat now putting on a nervous and false smile,

“Why...no, I actually had no idea such a thing was nearby. But…what exactly does this mean for my purchase of the land the nearby caves are on Fancy Pants?” Blueblood nervously asked. Fancy Pants’ horn glowed as he held up a small stack of papers for Blueblood to read,

“Well unfortunately I’m afraid the land and nearby area is under protection of the Historical Society now Blueblood. But don’t worry, I am aware of how many bits you’ve invested into this venture of yours and I will see to it every cent is returned to you in full.” he replied. Blueblood took the papers and began to read over them, Twilight and the others could see the restrained look of anger in his face as he read more.

“If you’ll excuse your highness's, Blueblood, and every pony else. I do have to get in touch with the rest of the Preservation Society and get to work cataloging all the paperwork for this right away.” Fancy Pants said before trotting off a smile on his face, Twilight, Cadence and Shining watched Blueblood as he finished reading over the paperwork his face almost turning red with rage before he finally looked up at them.

“This...I…how...you…” He grumbled before throwing the papers into the air. He looked up to see Twilight, Shining, looking back smiling, Cadence meanwhile looking more smug than the other two. Blueblood finally lost his temper and stormed off in a fury, his guards trotting after him to catch up.

Blueblood made his way back to his hotel room and slammed the door shut behind him in a fit of rage, he was absolutely livid right now. He was going to make a fortune off the caverns near Ponyville, it made the bits he invested into the deal look like pocket change and now he couldn’t do a thing about it. Blueblood walked over to the small table in the center of the room flipped it over in anger screaming profanities as he rampaged throughout his hotel. Then suddenly he came to a pause, taking notice of a small velvet box on the end table near the bed, a small note beneath it. Blueblood walked over and picked up the box while reading the note.

“I understand you’ve been having some trouble with the Royal family, hope this helps.

A Friend”

Blueblood opened the box and inside was a small gray amulet in the shape of an alicorn a red gem at the center. Blueblood could feel the raw magic stored inside the amulet and smiled at the sight of it.

“Well now, I suppose this could make today a bit better.” he laughed.

Author's Note

New chapter finally up :yay: , and Blueblood put in his place again. Or has he? :duck: I'm sure you all will enjoy seeing Twilight and her family getting the better of Blueblood again, and I always enjoy making Fancy Pants look like a Gentlestallion. He always came off as one of the few nobles who didn't have his head up his ass. Be sure to leave a few likes and comments as always and take care. :twilightsmile:

The Prince Dethroned

Twilight walked alongside Applejack, Shining and Cadence following close behind. Applejack was positively glowing with joy right now happy that Twilight was able to help them out with everything that was happening.

“Thanks again Twilight, I can’t begin to tell y’all how much you’ve helped out every pony in town. I do wish we could’ve come up with a way that wouldn’t have made Blueblood into an enemy, but you can’t always have everything I suppose.” AJ said.

“I’m sure Blueblood just needs some time to cool down and then he’ll be fine. Give him a week or so and he’ll probably find a new business venture somewhere else.” Twilight replied. As the group trot through town, Twilight paused when she heard some pony shout her name from a distance. Before she could turn to see who it was a pink blur zipped past every pony tackling Twilight and rolling into a big hug.

“TWILIGHT!!! I didn’t know you were back! I almost missed you because I was visiting my sisters out of town!” the pink pony squeaked. Twilight took a moment to get her bearings back but then saw who was hugging her.

“Oh, Pinkie Pie! I was wondering where you were hiding, I figured you would’ve been at the center of everything that was going on in town.” Twilight said as she hugged Pinkie back. Twilight’s words caught Pinkie’s attention and she looked around at all the ponies around her,

“Did I miss something? You didn’t throw a party without me, did you? You can’t have a Ponyville party without the premiere party pony, which is me!” Pinkie said.

“No, Pinkie. We didn’t have any parties while y’all were gone, y’see what happened was…” Applejack started to explain but then was quickly cut off by Pinkie.

“Tell me later! Right now we need to throw Twilight that party I promised her the next time she visited! Every pony meet at Sugarcube Corner in ten minutes!!!” Pinkie then sprang into the air and darted off almost like she were a pegasus in flight. Every pony else stood silent and puzzled for a moment though,

“Ten minutes? There’s no way she could be ready that quick...right?” Cadence asked.

“Y’all don’t know Pinkie Pie very well then. Why don’t ya head on over to Sugarcube Corner and see if she needs any help, I’ll go back home and get the rest of yer family and mine so we can celebrate proper.” Applejack answered. They all nodded in agreement and split off, Applejack heading back to Apple Acres, the others to Sugarcube Corner.

As the group approached Sugarcube Corner nothing seemed out of place, the exterior was the same, the front door shut, and no real indication that Pinkie was even there they thought. Twilight, Shining, and Cadence stood looking around for a moment wondering what to do.

“Umm, are we sure she’s even here? Maybe she’s still getting party supplies?” Cadence asked. Twilight was just as clueless as Cadence but approached the front door knocking on it to get whoever might be insides attention. A second later the click and turn of the doorknob was followed by a sudden explosion of balloons and confetti pouring outside. They stood dumbfounded, covered in confetti as they looked inside to see the building had been completely set up for a full size party. Pinkie suddenly slid up to the front door to greet her friends with her usual smile.

“Hi Twilight, Shining, and Cadence! Welcome to the party! I just got everything finished!” Pinkie announced, she darted from pony to pony putting party hats on each one of them as well as putting a party blower in Shining’s mouth. Pinkie was quick to usher them inside to see the party she had at the ready. Twilight couldn’t begin figure out how Pinkie had gotten such a big party for them set up in such a small amount of time, they agreed to this only a few minutes ago! Pinkie excitedly hopped from place to place,

“Come on in and get your fill every pony! There’s cake, candy, cups, drinks, and cupcakes! Now let’s have fun already!” Pinkie shouted.

“Oh, are we early? We just got the invite a few minutes ago.” a voice said from behind. Twilight turned to see Lofty, Holiday, and Scootaloo all waiting at the front door. Scootaloo wasted no time and dashed inside to the snacks to get her fill. Pinkie slid over and hugged both the mares pulling them close.

“You’re just in time! Now let’s have some fun!” Pinkie shouted. Over the next few minutes more ponies from in town started to show up, Mayor Mare, Fluttershy, Mr and Mrs Cake, and some ponies Twilight and the others hadn’t quite met yet. The party was finally in full swing and every pony was having fun together,

“I wonder what’s taking Auntie and the others so long? You don’t think they didn’t want to come to the party do you Twilight?” Cadence asked.

Twilight took another sip from the drink she had before answering Cadence, “Of course not, knowing them they’re probably walking here with Applejack and her family rather than flying. To be honest, I’d probably have done the same thing.” The celebration was suddenly interrupted though by the sudden loud sound of a crash outside, Twilight and the others rushed to the front door and opened it to see what was happening outside. The town was suddenly in chaos, a small fire seen in the distance and ponies screaming and running away in a panic.

"What the?..."Shining said.

Twilight turned to every pony at the party and said, "Every pony stay here and be safe, we'll go see what's going on!"

Twilight raced to the source of the crash sound, Shining and Cadence close behind her. Soon they began to hear more sounds of panicked screams and more bangs and crashes. Finally they reached the fountain in the center of town and saw Blueblood levitating above it a sinister red magic aura around him as he launched magic blasts at the buildings around him gloating out loud.

“Dirty pony peasants! If I won’t let me have what I want, then I shall take it by force! Ha ha ha ha!”

Twilight approached Blueblood and shouted to him, “Blueblood! What are you doing!? Stop this right now! You’re gonna hurt some pony!” Blueblood paused in his destruction and turned to face Twilight,

“You! Filthy peasant! I’ve had enough of you and family humiliating me!” Blueblood shouted as he turned to face the purple mare a second later his horn glowing and releasing a red magic blast at Twilight. The blast was blocked by a magic shield at the last moment, Twilight turning to see her brother standing behind her glaring at Blueblood.

“You think you can beat me? A filthy lowly pony like you!?” Blueblood shouted, the iris of his eyes changing to a blood red shade as the magic in his horn seemed to become more powerful and unstable. Cadence rushed at Blueblood from behind trying to grab him and end this, but found herself bouncing off a barrier around the stallion. Blueblood turned and saw her being knocked back, he then turned to face her and fired another magic blast Cadence barely had time to raise her own shield and was instead thrown through the wall of a nearby building.

“Cadence!” Shining shouted as he ran at Blueblood firing magic blasts at him, Shining’s attacks bounced off Blueblood’s shield to which he responded by casting a bundle of magic chains wrapping around Blueblood’s shield and slamming him to the ground. Dark magics poured out of the amulet around his neck though and with a sudden burst of magic Shining’s chains launched through the air and soon bound Shining Armor pinning him to the ground. Blueblood laughed maniacally and rose to the air again, firing another burst of magic at the now helpless Shining. Twilight teleported between them and quickly raised her barrier blocking his attack.

“Blueblood! I’m warning you! This is your last chance to stop all of this!” Twilight shouted. Her words only made Blueblood angrier, feeding the amulet around his necks power,

“Stop? I won’t stop until I have exactly what I want!” Blueblood shouted. Magic poured out of Blueblood’s horn random arcs of magic energy going everywhere as he launched another attack at Twilight, the little alicorn blocked his attack and fired her own back at him in vain. His barrier was too strong she thought, she was going to need more power or help to crack it. Blueblood launched another attack his magic now having no focus and going everywhere, Twilight blocked the blasts that came towards her and Shining but then she heard the sound of the Ponyville ponies screaming in fear. She looked around and saw Blueblood’s magic had no discrimination now, it was random and out of control. The stallion clearly had little to no knowledge of how to control his attacks now, Twilight knew she had to keep the town safe now and not just her brother. Focusing as much magic as she could Twilight cast a barrier stretching it as far she could to shield the town, Blueblood rose above the barrier but only laughed at Twilight’s attempts.

“You really think you can just shield the whole town!? The bigger your barrier the weaker it is peasant!” he taunted before unleashing another assault of magic blasts in every direction. Twilight grit her teeth trying to keep her barrier up, but Blueblood was so much more powerful right now. Twilight looked up to see her barrier beginning to give out, cracks slowly forming all across it. Then a barrier of green and blue energy suddenly formed beneath it adding on two more layers of protection for the town. Twilight looked about seeing Cadence having recovered and casting a shield of her own, looking over her shoulder she saw Sunset following her example. Then a booming Canterlot voice echoed throughout the town,

“THAT IS ENOUGH!!!” Before Blueblood could react dark blue and golden yellow beams of magic shot across the sky crashing into his barrier and knocking him across the town just shy of the outskirts. Blueblood spun in circles in the middle of the barrier disoriented, when he finally started to recover he saw a blue alicorn streak across the sky smashing through his barrier and slamming him into the ground with a thunderous BOOM! Blueblood was pinned beneath the blue hoof covers of the Moon Princess now, and before he could cast a spell Celestia landed beside her sister and quickly tore the amulet from around his neck. The red in Blueblood’s magic and eyes faded instantly and he soon realized how much trouble he was in,

“Wait, wait, wait, I can explain! This wasn’t my fault!!! I swear!” he begged. Celestia didn’t respond instead she stood glaring down at him with a rage in her eyes he’d never seen before.

“Answer me now Blueblood, where did you get this!? Who gave it to you?!” Celestia demanded.

Elsewhere...Grogar watched as Blueblood was defeated in battle, then in a cloud of shadows Nightmare appeared before him.

“I have it...although I don’t understand why you needed to give up such a powerful artifact just for a distraction. I could’ve used that amulet to easily recover most of my power, wouldn’t that have been more to our advantage?” she asked as she handed Grogar a book wrapped in old tattered cloth. The ram chuckled as he took the book and began to unwrap it,

“This artifact is far more valuable Nightmare, with it I can use its magics to help make monsters and creatures to aid in my future plans. As for the amulet it was a necessary sacrifice, having you go into the castle of Two Sisters as you are would’ve drawn the Princesses’ attention. Especially since they’re so adamant about rescuing your host.” he explained. Grogar finished unwrapping the book Nightmare found revealing an old spell tome made of stone with spikes on the cover.

“Ah yes, the Inspiration Manifestation...”

Author's Note

:yay: New chapter finished, took me a while to get this done. I found myself getting back into Pokemon Shield and then Brilliant Pearl came out a few days ago which hasn't helped me focus on my stories. :twilightsheepish: But I managed to finally keep my Switch off long enough to get this done and hopefully everyone is pleased with how this all turned out. Next update will have the House of Sun finally making their way back to Canterlot and finally starting the "Storm King" arc. Which yes, that means everyone's favorite Edge Pony will get her time to shine. :pinkiehappy:

Invasion

It had been almost a full week since the House of Sun had finally returned to Canterlot, word spread quickly about Blueblood’s actions. Celestia was quick to dispatch workers and soldiers to help with repairing the damage the stallion had caused. Celestia and Luna sat in the castle study going through most of the old tomes in the restricted section of the castle library. Twilight walked into the room with a fresh pot of tea and cups for them.

“Any luck on the research?” Twilight asked, Celestia shook her head and set the book she was reading down before getting herself a fresh cup of tea.

“Sadly no, we’ve found no lack of information regarding the alicorn amulets magic, its origins, and some of the places its been, but nothing on where it could’ve been before Blueblood received it. It’s simply moved around for far too long, I don’t think were going to find out who was responsible for this. Or why they wanted Blueblood of all ponies to use it to wreak havoc. There are far more powerful creatures out there who could’ve used something like this to a much better extent.” Celestia explained. A brief hush fell over the room before Twilight spoke up again,

“Could it have been Nightmare? Maybe he was trying to use Blueblood to get back at us?” Luna set her book down and looked at Twilight,

“That’s certainly possible, but I don’t think that’s the answer we’re looking for either Twilight.” Luna replied. Celestia let out a frustrated groan and then stood up from her seat,

“I need some fresh air, we’ve been in this library all day. A brief walk will do us both wonders right now Luna.” she said.

Twilight followed Celestia and Luna as they made their way out to the terrace overlooking the city, it was a gorgeous sunny day out and barely any clouds were in sky.

“Mmm, this is exactly what I needed. Just a moment to feel that warm breeze is all…” Celestia said as she held her head high and smiled.

“Twilight!” a voice shouted from across the way, she looked over to see Sweetie Belle with Cadence and Sunset. A small stack of books and other nick knacks near them, Sweetie Belle eagerly ran over to her excitedly.

“Hi Sweetie Belle, what are you three doing out here?” Twilight asked as she hugged nuzzled the filly. Sunset and Cadence trot over behind Sweetie Belle.

“Well, after that thing with the changelings I wanted to get better at helping every pony. So I asked Sunset and Cadence to teach me some magic!” she explained. Celestia and Luna both looked at Sunset surprised when they heard this. Sunset blushed rubbing one of her legs embarrassed,

“It just seemed right, you know? And I’m kinda having fun teaching some pony the stuff I learned as a foal.” Sunset said. Luna walked over and gave Sunset a hug, nuzzling her a little as she did.

“So what lessons are you working on right now?” Twilight asked taking a new interest in the conversation.

“We're starting small, basic alteration and levitation. Sweetie’s doing a good job picking up the basics really. Might start teaching her a barrier spell if she keeps this up.” Sunset said. Twilight’s face suddenly lit up with a bright smile,

“Oh! What about the Illusionary Encyclopedia? Or maybe Starswirl’s tome of advanced polymorphs? Or there’s also…” Twilight began to gush before Cadence walked over and put her hoof on the mares shoulder.

“Twi, she’s just started today. It’ll be a while before we try anything more advanced okay?.” Cadance said. Twilight’s face turned a little red as every pony chuckled at her,

“I guess I just got a little carried away, I just wanted to be a part of…” Twilight’s sentence was suddenly cut off by the clap of thunder in the distance. Every pony turned to see a large dark storm cloud approaching Canterlot castle.

“A storm cloud? But I thought we were supposed to have clear skies today? What lazy pegasus in Cloudsdale let this happen?” Sunset said. Twilight looked at Celestia and Luna noticing the look of concern on both of their faces, before she could ask though Luna spoke to Sunset.

“Sunset, go get Shining and inform the guards right now.” she instructed, Sunset didn’t question her and sprinted off to do as she was told.

“What’s wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked,

“That cloud is moving against the wind, and there’s thunder but none of the lightning is making landfall…” Luna explained. The storm cloud slowly came to settle over the castle and as it did a trio of airships emerged from the black clouds, the lead ship turning and coming to a stop at the edge of the terrace. Twilight gently pushed Sweetie Belle behind her as Celestia, Luna, and Cadence stepped forward.

The side of the airship opened a large black steel ramp extending with a loud bang smashing a section of the terrace railing. A moment later a large group of Canterlot guards approached and lined up behind the royal family. The guards stood at the ready when a small yeti emerged from the ship carrying a small speaker box with a microphone attached to it. He picked up the microphone and spoke into it loudly,

“Ponies of Equestria! On behalf of the great Storm King, bow and give praise to commander Tempest Shadow!!!” He picked the speaker up and stepped to the side as a dark purple pony with a bright red mane, donned in black armor, and piercing green eyes, emerged from the airship, she stood silently staring down at the princesses coldly. Celestia took a step forward looking back at her fiercely,

“I am Princess Celestia, what reason does the Storm King dare invade our kingdom?” she demanded. Tempest slowly began to walk down the ramp looking down at the princesses the entire way,

“Your immediate surrender, without any hesitation.” Tempest answered. Luna sneered and stood beside her sister,

“Surrender? And how exactly do you plan to do this? There’s only two of you and you are in OUR castle amongst our forces.” Luna shouted back. Tempest grinned and came to a stop,

“Oh, you have no idea how many more you will need right now.” she replied. A moment later massive spiked anchors launched from the other airships striking the terrace ground, the Storm King’s forces springing from the airships and swarming the area almost immediately outnumbering the Canterlot guard. The Royal family looked around frantically trying to make sense of the situation, Celestia turned her attention back to Tempest though seeing the mare charge down the ramp at her. She watched as Tempest threw a small orb into the air and leapt up kicking it towards her with one of her hind legs. Celestia quickly used her magic to raise a barrier and move her family back, the orb crashed into the barrier and stuck like glue for a moment before shaking and exploding releasing a thick green gas. Twilight watched in shock as Celestia tried to move away but her body was slowly turned to black onyx,

“LUNA!!! I can’t…” her voice was cut off finally when her whole body changed. Luna was in shock but quickly turned her attention back to Tempest who was still approaching, Luna turned to face Twilight and Cadence,

“Twilight! Cadence! Get Sunset and the others, go north! Find the Children of the Night, tell them I’ve…” Luna stopped mid sentence when she saw Tempest tossing another of the onyx orbs into the air, Luna instead sprang forward and charged ramming the mare and stopping her from kicking the orb. Tempest rolled backwards and got back to her hooves as Luna charged again. Twilight went to help her aunt, but was stopped by Cadence.

“Twilight! Remember what she said, we need to go! Grab Sweetie Belle!” she shouted, Twilight hated leaving her Aunt behind, let alone Celestia in this moment but she knew Cadence was right. Tempest dodged Luna’s attacks, the mare was bigger and stronger than her and she knew it. She caught a glimpse of Twilight and Cadence running and as Luna landed blocking her view she threw another orb into the air and kicked it towards her, instinctively Luna leapt into the air dodging the orb which flew through the air and struck Cadence in the back just as she finished giving Sweetie to Twilight.

“Cadence, NOO!!!” Twilight shouted as she watched her best friend slowly turn to black stone same as her mother. Luna looked back hearing Twilight’s shouts realizing her mistake, angrily she turned and charged at Tempest ready to end this battle. Tempest rolled out of the way watching Luna land onto the ground with a thud,

“You won’t win this fight!” Luna snapped. Tempest smiled back at the princess,

“I have to disagree with you there.” she replied, Tempest’s eyes then looked towards the ground Luna looked down to see one of the orbs between her front hooves. She gasped and spread her wings ready to take flight but then Tempest blasted it with her broken horns magic setting it off and releasing the green gas.

Twilight watched as Luna looked back at her a second before she turned to stone, shouting to her “RUN!!!”. Without a second thought Twilight turned and ran as fast she could, Sweetie Belle gripped Twilight’s neck as tightly as she could as the two ran between all the Canterlot guards and Storm King soldiers fighting one another. The sound of hoof steps caught Twilight’s attention though and she looked back to see Tempest chasing after her,

“Oh no, no, no, no, no no!” She muttered. She watched as Tempest threw another onyx orb into the air and leapt to kick it, a second before her hoof kicked it though a red magic blast knocked Tempest away from the orb. Twilight slid to a stop and looked to see Shining and Sunset arriving with more Canterlot guards,

“Twilight! Keep running! We’ll keep her here!” Sunset shouted as she and Shining stood between her and Tempest. Twilight got further from Tempest which angered the mare,

she turned and shouted, “GRUBBER! Get the princess!!!”

Twilight ran as fast as she could, the whole city of Canterlot was now under siege. Just as Twilight made it to the bridge leading into the city though a pair of Storm King soldiers landed in front of her blocking her exit, she tried to retreat but was interrupted by the familiar voice of Grubber.

“Ha, nowhere to go now pony! Should’ve just let the commander catch you and make this whole thing easier.” he taunted. The soldiers slowly started to march towards Twilight and Sweetie Belle, Sweetie tightening her grip as they did.

“Twilight...I’m scared…what do we do?” Sweetie whimpered. Twilight turned towards the guards in front of her and fired magic blasts hoping to knock them away, the blasts were easily blocked by their shields though, the last ricocheting and hitting the bridge they stood on. The bridge gave way and Twilight and Sweetie shrieked as they fell to the river below, Grubber and the guards as they were swept away by the current.

“Oh the commander is not gonna like this...Go get her already!” Grubber said. Twilight splashed and tried to keep her head above the water, frantically reaching for Sweetie Belle and holding her close.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle! I’ve got this...I think!” she said.

“Twilight…” Sweetie replied, the purple mare looked up and saw the end of the river ahead, a large waterfall that ran away from Canterlot.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!!!” Twilight shouted as the two reached the falls and fell over to the water below. Twilight held onto Sweetie as best she could spinning around and around, she spread her wings and started to frantically flap them, trying to fly. After what seemed like forever the two suddenly slowed to a stop in the air. Twilight had her eyes closed, and could feel her wings flapping over and over. She laughed to herself before smiling,

“I did it! I actually did it! I’m flying Sweetie!” she announced. Sweetie didn’t reply though,

“Um...I’m sorry Twilight, please don’t look up. I’ll set you down really quick, I promise.” a third voice suddenly spoke up. Twilight opened her eyes when she realized she could feel a pair of claws holding her sides. She looked back to see Gabby above her, she slowly flew over to the edge of the river and set Twilight and Sweetie Belle down, she then flapped her wings and put a few feet between them remembering Twilight's griffon phobia. Twilight looked back Gabby and saw wave and smile, she was happy to see her friend but she also felt bad knowing she was staying her distance. Twilight set Sweetie Belle down and took a deep breath slowly approaching Gabby, and then finally hugging her.

“Thank you Gabby, I mean it. Thanks for the save.” Twilight said. Gabby smiled happy to finally get a hug from Twilight and then she immediately grabbed the mare and lifted her into a hug of her own.

Sweetie trot over and gave the griffon and mare a hug as well, a moment later they stopped hugging and Gabby looked at the two ponies.

“What were you two doing in the river? Don’t you know how dangerous that is?” Gabby asked. Sweetie Belle pointed back towards Canterlot, Gabby looking back to see the dark clouds and airships now floating over the city.

“Is that...bad?” Gabby asked. Twilight nodded,

“Yeah, but let’s get away from the river for now. We need to get out of sight as soon as possible.” Twilight explained. The three walked through the brush near the river and headed towards the roadside.

“I can’t believe this is happening...Mom, Aunt Luna, Cadence, my whole family is trapped back in Canterlot. I...I don’t know what to do right now.” Twilight said.

“Is there something we can do maybe? Do want me fly over and see if I can find them maybe? I wanna help Twilight.” Gabby asked. Twilight shook her head,

“No, going back is too dangerous. The Storm King’s forces are everywhere and then there’s that pony...what was her name? Tempest Shadow. I’ve never seen a unicorn with a broken horn before. Why is she helping someone like the Storm King in the first place?” Twilight said. Gabby and Sweetie could see how distraught the mare was, they reached the road a few minutes later and stopped to think. They sat silently for a few minutes when Sweetie heard the sound of wagon wheels approaching, she quickly alerted Twilight and Gabby and the three ducked into the bushes to hide. They waited expecting to see more of the Storm King’s forces, but instead a familiar blue mare came walking down the road pulling a caravan from the opposite direction. Twilight instantly sprung out of the bushes and hugged the pony taking her by complete surprise.

“Trixie! Are you a sight for sore eyes!” Twilight announced, Trixie stood dumbfounded for a second before realizing it was Twilight hugging her.

“Oh hi Twilight, its great to see you too. But...what are you doing all the way out here? Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot?” she asked. Twilight took a step back and looked towards the city, Trixie looking up to see the airships as well.

“Oh...that’s, um...what is going on?” she asked. Twilight took a few moments to explain as Trixie undid the harness for her caravan. When Twilight finally finished they all sat and thought for a moment about the next move they should make.

“Isn’t there something we can do? I mean, I know we can’t just go charging into the city but...is there anything?” Trixie asked. Twilight then remembered Luna’s words and her eyes opened wide.

“The Children of the Night...that’s it! We need to find them, Luna said they could help. But...I don’t know where to start looking, north is the only real clue we’ve got.” Twilight answered. Sweetie then stood up and smiled excitedly,

“I know a place we can get help AND find out where they are!” she said. Twilight and the others looked at one anther before looking back at Sweetie.

“Where?” Gabby asked.

Then with a bright smile Sweetie hopped in place and announced, “Ponyvile!”

Author's Note

:ajsleepy: Finally got this done, tried getting it up before the Christmas but my job was kicking my @$$ the last two weeks. :twilightsheepish: But at long last I got the Storm King arc off to a good start. I will be honest, I've been looking forward to writing this arc as much as I was the Nightmare Moon arc. Even went and rewatched the G4 movie so I could get a better idea of how to write Edge Pony and Grubber. :yay: Well hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as I did, and here's to a great new year for everyone! :pinkiehappy:

Assemble the Team

An eerie silence fell over the Canterlot throne room, Tempest standing in the center of the room her soldiers setting the petrified princesses around her. A moment later Grubber entered the throne room nervously, the sound of the main doors shutting made Tempest look back and turn to see him.

“Grubber, where’s the last one?” she asked.

Grubber chuckled for a moment and scratched the back of his head before answering, “Well, see… we almost had her, but then she tried to blast us with magic and you know the shields we have deflect and block magic…then her attack ricocheted and hit the bridge we were all standing on and then...she fell into the river and got away.”

Tempest’s eyes went wide with anger, she took a step towards him and shouted, “She got away!? Search the city then, send the guards out to scour the area around Canterlot! NOW!!” Grubber nervously turned and ran out of the room, shutting the doors behind him with a loud bang. Tempest stood trying to compose herself when a familiar voice suddenly spoke up.

“Tempest, that was a bit cruel don’t you think?” Tempest turned and to her surprise she saw the Storm King enter the throne room from the opposite side of the room. Tempest quickly bowed in respect,

“Your highness, I...I wasn’t expecting you so early.” she said. The Storm King walked around the throne room looking at the princesses,

“So these are the ponies he’s so afraid of? Pffft, they weren’t that dangerous obviously…” the Storm King said as he poked the petrified Celestia’s horn. Tempest looked up at him puzzled, “Who’s afraid of the princesses?” she asked. The Storm King looked back at Tempest and stomped towards her,

“Does it matter? No, I think what REALLY matters here Tempest is that you promised me four Alicorns and their magic. But I only see three here, do you see the problem? You do want your horn back right? Well until I have all four ponies magic, I won’t and I can’t give you your horn back. So what do you think you should be doing right now?” he asked.

Tempest looked away and nodded in respect, “Yes your highness, I’ll lead the team to find her right away. I won’t let you down.” she answered.

Twilight walked along the dirt road, the others following close behind with Trixie pulling her caravan at the rear. They’d been walking all day long and were all exhausted now, but finally Twilight saw their destination just on the horizon.

“There it is, we finally made it.” Twilight said, they all started to trot at a quicker pace at the sight of Ponyville. They were all ready to finally rest after what had transpired earlier, Twilight looked up at the sky and saw the sun was still out. Normally this would be when the sun was setting she thought, it made her pause and think to how she couldn’t keep her family safe.

“Hey, you alright Twilight?” Trixie asked as she came to a stop beside her, Gabby and Sweetie going ahead of them.

“I don’t know, but...I have to fix this somehow. Every pony back in Canterlot is counting on me right now.” Twilight replied. Trixie smiled and gave Twilight a friendly nudge,

“You mean counting on us! We’re not about to let you do this all on your own you know, that’s what friends are for. And the Great and Powerful Trixie, knows you make friends better than any pony.” Trixie said before trotting ahead to catch up. Twilight smiled at her friends words and walked into town with the others, not even three feet into town did Twilight hear a voice call out.

“TWILIGHT!!!” Before any pony could see the source a pink blur dove out of the sky from above and tackled Twilight into a full hug, when Twilight recovered she saw a familiar pink pony hugging her tightly.

“Pinkie, its great to see you again…” she said. Pinkie hugged her friend tight and nuzzled her cheek against Twilight’s,

“You didn’t say you were coming to visit! I have to throw together an emergency party now!” Pinkie said. Sweetie Belle quickly trot over to the two and poked Pinkie’s side getting her attention.

“We don’t have time for a party Pinkie, we’ve got an emergency back in Canterlot! Twilight’s family is in trouble, we gotta save them!” Sweetie explained. Pinkie gasped putting her hooves to her cheeks in response to Sweetie Belle’s words,

“Oh my stars! No wonder your here without telling me first, we need every pony on deck!” Pinkie shouted. Twilight stood up and dusted herself off,

“My Aunt Luna told me to go north and find the “Children of the Night”, is there anywhere in town I can do some research? Whoever these children are they sound like they might be our best chance to save every pony.” Twilight asked. Pinkie put her hoof around Twilight and pulled her close pointing in the distance.

“Sure is, you can use the Golden Oak library! There’s tons of books in there! You go get to work Twilight, I’ll get the rest of the team together!” Pinkie said before darting off.

“Wait, team? Pinkie, who’re you?…” before Twilight could finish though she was gone in another pink blur, Twilight groaned in frustration. Pinkie was a great friend she thought but right now she didn’t have time for her games or antics.

Gabby looked down at Sweetie Belle and asked, “So where’s the library at? You lived here, right Sweetie Belle?” Gabby asked. Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement and pointed in the direction of the library and ran ahead of every pony else, Trixie barely had time to unhook the harness from her caravan before catching up to the others. Sweetie led them a short distance across Ponyville to a large tree refurbished into a building.

“Here it is, come on. The mayor always keeps it unlocked during the day so ponies can use it.” Sweetie Belle said as she pushed open the door.

Twilight walked into the library and looked around in awe, it wasn’t half as big as the palace library like she was used to but beggars can’t be choosers she thought.

“All right every creature, let’s get to work. We’ve got ponies counting on us back home and we’ve got a lot of books to go through. Now let’s find out who and where the Children of the Night are exactly.” Twilight announced. They all started in different spots across the library looking through as many books as they could hoping to find some kind of answer. Almost a full two hours passed and Twilight and the others had gone through almost a quarter of the books in the library when Pinkie suddenly burst into the building announcing her presence.

“We’re here Twilight! And we’re ready to help save the day!” she shouted. Pinkie hopped into the library in her usual energetic way, following behind her was Applejack, Big Macintosh, and lastly Fluttershy.

“Oh hi guys, sorry to show up out of nowhere like this. Things are...not good back in Canterlot.” Twilight explained.

“I got all the best ponies in Ponyville to help out! I would’ve gotten Rainbow Dash too, but she hasn’t gotten back yet. Something about dusty lightning and making wash cloths or something.” Pinkie said.

Applejack walked over and sat down across from Twilight, “Pinkie told us somethin’ was goin on back in Canterlot, if there’s anyway we can help just say the word Twilight. I imagine yer short hoofed right now as it is.” Applejack said with a smile, Big Mac then adding his usual “Eeyup” after his sister spoke.

Before Twilight could answer Gabby suddenly shouted with excitement, “I found something!” She flew over and landed next to Twilight setting down an old Equestrian atlas, and pointed to a part of a map inside.

“Lookit! Right here, it mentions an old song mentioning the Children of the night. Something about a Garden of Shadows, here in the Crescent Moon Valley.” Gabby excitedly explained. Twilight picked up the book to see for herself,

“Its not much, but its definitely the best lead we have so far. And what’s more its almost directly north of Canterlot, I think this might be what we’re looking for!” she said with a smile.

“But...no pony goes to the Crescent Moon Valley…” Fluttershy spoke up, every pony looked at the timid pegasus a little confused which made her look away shyly for a second.

“You don’t know the story? Its an old Pegasus tale, I don’t really like it cause its scary though. The Crescent Moon Valley is haunted by terrifying gargoyles with large scary bat wings. Every pony who goes in there is snatched up and never seen again…” Fluttershy explained. An uneasy air of tension quickly filled the room, but then Twilight broke the silence confidently.

“Every pony is counting on us, and not just Canterlot either. Every pony in Equestria, the Storm King isn’t going to stop with just Canterlot he’ll eventually start to go after other cities as well. So we need to go to the Crescent Moon Valley and get the help my Aunt told me to. Now who’s with me?” Every creature suddenly smiled and with a triumphant cheer they agreed to follow Twilight.

Tempest stood at the bridge where Grubber had said Twilight was last seen, she looked around at the damage and then down at the river below.

“So...um, are we in trouble right now? The Storm King isn’t exactly known for being forgiving you know.” Grubber said nervously. Tempest didn’t answer though instead she slowly walked across the bridge trying to see where Twilight could’ve gotten to. Grubber and two guards followed a short distance behind her watching her study the area. Tempest looked up towards the river, seeing a small clearing next to it not far from that was the road leading out of Canterlot. Tempest’s gaze slowly moved upward towrds the horizon and then just above the distant tree line she could see town hall of Ponyville just barely poking up over. With a sinister grin Tempest smiled and whispered to herself,

“There you are...”

Author's Note

God this took me sooo long to get done, my job has taking its toll on me this last month. I got overtime twice and I am exhausted. :raritydespair: But finally managed to find the time to get this update done and posted. And I know I said I was gonna explain where Spike was this chapter and I apologize for that. But a friend who helps me brainstorm on occasion gave me a REALLY good idea on how to use Spike to bring in another character from the movie, and I couldn't resist. :pinkiehappy: So Spike will appear later on, and I'll have him explain where and what he's been up to. As for the Children of the Night, I'm sure most of you can probably figure out where I'm going with that now, and I'll be sure to add them soon. :twilightsmile: Anyway, leave the usual comment and like and I'll try and get the next update posted asap.

Ponyville Rush

Twilight stood next to Applejack and Big Mac as they packed up their saddlebags with supplies for the trip. Sweetie Belle and the others were a short distance away talking to Gabby.

“Alright y’all, that should just about do it. You certain ya got everything you’ll need Big Mac?” Applejack said. Big Mac looked back at her and with a nod he answered,

“Eeyup.” The group gathered together as Twilight looked over the atlas they took from the library one last time.

“Okay every creature, if we head out now it should take a little more than a day to reach the valley. Once we’re there we can find the Children of the Night and ask for their help.” Twilight said with a smile, she put the atlas into her saddlebag and the group started to head towards the edge of town.

“What do you think we’ll find when we get to the valley? You think the Children are ponies? Or griffons? Maybe Dragons? What if they’re something new?! Something no one’s ever seen before?!” Gabby gushed.

Fluttershy shirked a bit from Gabby’s words, “I hope its nothing scary...I’m not very good with scary things.” She said. Twilight led the way every pony staying close behind her,

“Luna was the one who told us to go and find them, so I imagine she’s seen them before. If that’s the case we can let them know that she’s the one who sent us, maybe they’ll be eager to help then.” Twilight said. Every pony was smiling and eager to go when suddenly an ominous shadow fell over the town, Twilight came to a stop and looked up and gasped when she saw Tempest’s airship over head.

“Oh no! How’d she find us?” Sweetie Belle asked, Twilight watched as Tempest’s airship made its way to a stop over the town hall. The anchors launching down and locking into the ground below, the Storm King’s soldiers dropping down shortly after. Every pony around them backed away in fear, then one final soldier dropped down from the airship Tempest on his back. He reached up and gently set her down on the ground in front of him. Twilight and the others watched from around the corner of a nearby building as she approached Mayor Mare, the older pony cowering from her presence.

“Where is the princess?” Tempest asked,

Mayor Mare looked at the soldiers behind her then answered. “The princesses...they all live in Canterlot, not here. Not in Ponyville…” Tempest stared back at the Mayor a cold gaze that showed she was angry.

“I’ll ask one more time...where is the Princess? Twilight Sparkle...I know she’s here.” Tempest demanded. Twilight instinctively went to rush out and help, but felt Applejack, Trixie, and Big Mac all grab hold of her and pull her back.

“No Twilight, you can’t! I don’t know who this pony is, but if she gets a hold of ya who’s gonna help every pony back in Canterlot?” Applejack said. Twilight wanted to object but she knew her friend was right. She looked back and saw Tempest slowly look around the town, she then nodded and the soldiers with her began to violently search for the mare. Tempest stood silent for a moment watching the ponies of Ponyville flee and scream from the soldiers searching for Twilight. They purely destructive in their search, kicking in doors, flipping market stalls, smash pots, crates, and barrels alike.

“Grubber! Get over here, we need to find out who’s seen the princess now.” Tempest ordered as she turned around. When she saw Grubber standing behind her though he wasn’t wearing his usual tabbard, instead he had a black t-shirt with a poorly scribbled Storm King insignia on it. Grubber smiled nervously at Tempest who quirked an eyebrow confused by his appearance.

“What are you wearing Grubber?” she asked.

He chuckled and twiddled his fingers before answering, “Well see...before we left I was getting a snack, cake. And I didn’t want to get it messy, so I took it off while I ate, but then when I finished and went to put it back on someone stole it. Heh heh…” Tempest stared back in a blank and almost emotionless gaze, she wondered who was small enough let alone shaped like Grubber that would steal his tabbard. But then she refocused her attention back on looking for Twilight and walked away.

Twilight and the others crept out of sight trying to stay ahead of the Storm King’s forces. They came to a stop and noticed the guards had already reached the ways out of the town.

“What do we do? How are we supposed to get away without being seen?” Trixie asked. Twilight looked around trying to think of a plan, she noticed a wagon not far and got an idea.

“Every pony over here! I’ve got an idea.” Twilight said as she moved to the wagon. Twilight helped Sweetie Belle into the wagon as the others save for Big Mac and Applejack climbed inside. Twilight threw a blanket over the top of the wagon and used her magic to readjust the angle the wagon was facing.

“Whatcha doing Twilight?” Pinkie asked leaning over the edge and looking down at her friends.

“Every pony hang on!” Twilight said as she and the Apple siblings began to push the wagon. The wagon started slow, but began to build momentum as they went, Applejack quickly hopped into the wagon with Twilight’s help, Big Mac then tossing Twilight in after his sister. The wagon was suddenly moving at a faster pace now and Big Mac was sprinting to catch up, Trixie looked towards the direction they were heading and noticed they were on a crash course for the two soldiers.

“This was your plan?!” she shouted to Twilight. The wagon was now moving at a break neck speed as the terrain curved downhill, the two soldiers saw the wagon careening towards them and tried to get out of the way but one was just a minute too slow and was hit by the wagon, getting trampled in the process. Big Mac was running after the wagon and was about to catch up as it reached the edge of the town, but then the remaining soldier grabbed hold of his tail and pulled him back. Applejack gasped in shock seeing her brother get grabbed,

“Big Macintosh!” She called out, Big Mac looked back at his sister and saw the look in her eyes.

“Nope.” is all he said before kicking the soldier in the stomach and sending flying backwards and into a wall. When Big Mac turned to look the wagon was almost on the horizon now, just out of sight. He turned around and saw three more of the soldiers approaching. The stallion stood his ground though and let out an angry snort staring them all down.

“Nope…”

The wagon was racing out of control down the hills, Sweetie Belle and Pinkie excitedly cheering at the rush of the wind as it moved.
“Twilight? What was your plan for making this thing stop once we were out of town?!” Trixie shouted. Twilight looked around frantically,

“I didn’t think that far ahead, I was just trying to get us away!” she replied. Applejack frantically searched around trying to find some way of stopping the wagon, just beneath Pinkie’s hooves she found a length of rope and quickly picked it up and made a lasso. Applejack watched the trees they passed as the wagon rushed by and quickly threw it out catching a sturdy branch. Twilight saw what her friend was doing and put a magic bubble around the top of the wagon. Every creature grabbed hold of the rope Applejack had and when the rope finally went taught the wagon came to a sudden and violent stop causing every pony to bounce into the air but stay into the wagon thanks to Twilight’s magic. The group laid in the wagon in a comedic dogpile, but Applejack hopped out and started to march back towards Ponyville.

“Applejack!” Twilight called out as she climbed out and chased after her.

“I gotta go back, they’ve got Big Mac! He needs help…” Applejack said, Twilight walked over and hugged her friend seeing how upset she was.

“I know...I know...and I’m so sorry, I didn’t want this to happen. But if you go back they’ll just get you too. I can’t let anymore of my friends get caught like that.” Twilight said. Applejack went to object, but then she saw the look in Twilight’s eye, and she knew how much this was hurting her right now. With a smile Applejack hugged Twilight tight to make her feel better.

“Alright sugar cube, I’ll just have to hope Big Mac knows what he’s doing back there.” she replied. Twilight hugged Applejack back, then a second later she felt Pinkie hug the both of them from behind, then Sweetie Belle, and lastly Gabby. The whole group let out a playful giggle before stepping back and looking around, Twilight took out the atlas and tried to figure out where they were and what direction they needed to go.

“Okay every pony, let’s get a move on!” she shouted with a smile.

Back in Ponyville, Tempest approached the soldiers who were holding Big Macintosh, the soldiers armor dented, cracked and damaged. Big Mac had obviously put a hurting on all of them and Tempest was surprised to see it took four of them to restrain him and even then they were struggling to hold him down. Grubber quickly walked up beside Tempest and looked down at Big Mac,

“Alright pony, speak up! Tell us where the Princess went right now!” Grubber shouted. Big Mac showed no fear of Grubber though and simply shook his head no. Tempest took another step forward and looked down at the stallion,

“That’s fine with me...I’ll just make you talk…” she said. Her cracked horn slowly began sparking and crackling with unstable magic.

Author's Note

New update is finally up, took me a while to brainstorm this one. :twilightsmile: The last second I decided I didn't want to go straight into Twilight and co. finding the Children of the Night so easily. So I felt a chapter showing that Tempest was hot on their hooves was necessary. Plus it never hurts to have some Big Mac appreciation. :eeyup: I also dropped a small clue regarding Spike's whereabouts in this chapter, I wonder who will be the first to figure it out? :moustache:

Into the Valley

Tempest marched through the town an angry scowl on her face, Grubber followed behind her but kept his distance.

“Sooo...what do we do now? That stallion wouldn’t say anything…” he asked. Tempest didn’t answer instead she continued to march towards the center of the town where all the soldiers were gathering every pony into the town hall.

“Some pony knows what she was doing here, or saw where she was at...I’m going to get answers one way or another.” Tempest growled.

Twilight and her friends had been traveling for a long time now, it took more than a day to travel by hoof but finally they were getting closer to their destination. Twilight looked at the atlas floating in front of her and then up at the rock formation ahead of her.

“I think this is it, this is the entrance to the valley of the Crescent Moon. The Children of the Night should be somewhere in here.” Twilight said with a smile. She put the atlas back in her saddlebag and walked ahead some more, Sweetie Belle paused and looked back a little worried before following.

“You think every ponies okay? Not just Canterlot, but Ponyville too?” she asked. Fluttershy stopped and gently pat Sweetie on the head,

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be fine. Once we get help we'll go back and get every one.” Fluttershy reassured her.

Pinkie hopped over beside the two and added, “Yeah! Twilight knows what she’s doing! There’s no way we’ll lose!” Sweetie smiled at hearing the two older mares confidence. The group finally entered the valley, it was dark and dimly lit, the only real light coming from the gap of the valley overhead. The wind blowing made an eerie sound, the occasional bit of dirt and rock making more noise.

“Sure is scary, are we sure that they’re in here?” Fluttershy said nervously. Gabby put one of her arms around the little pegasus with a smile,

“It’ll be fine, if things get too bad we’ll just fly everyone up to the top and get out. Right Twilight?” Gabby asked. Twilight looked back and nodded with a smile,

“Let’s see what we can find further in, I don’t think there’s any pony near the entrance.” she said. The group walked through the valley close together, the valley getting darker the deeper they went in.

“Wait! What was that?” Trixie suddenly asked, they all stopped and looked back at her puzzled.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Applejack answered, the group stood and looked around nervously. Then the sound of a small rock falling from above caught their attention,

“That! Something’s moving around and its not us.” Trixie shouted. Every pony grouped together and looked around the valley frantically for anything moving.

“There!” Sweetie shouted pointing above them, they all looked and saw a silhouette of something leap across the top of the valley, it leapt across again going the opposite direction a few small rocks falling down as it did. Twilight put up a shield blocking the rocks from falling on them and once it was safe she shouted to everyone.

“Run! Before it brings the valley down on us!” Twilight kept the barrier up until all her friends were ahead of her and then ran after them, the creature above leaping back and forth above the valley. Trixie led the way as they came to the end of the valley, the side crumbled into a climbable slope. Trixie stopped and ushered Sweetie and Fluttershy up ahead of her before following, Applejack and Pinkie following behind them, and lastly Gabby took flight and grabbed Twilight carrying her up to the top of the valley just as the others reached it.

Gabby set Twilight down and she walked over to everyone else,

“Are all of you ok?” she asked. They all smiled and nodded, happy to have made it out safely.

“What was that?” Pinkie asked looking back down at the valley floor, before Twilight could look or answer something leapt up out of the valley and into the sky, the sun behind it. Pinkie, Sweetie, and Fluttershy all hugged one another and let out a panicked scream together. The creature suddenly darted past all of them and landed leaping from rock to rock before landing and facing them. Twilight was in awe to see it was just another pony though, she slowly stood upright and spread her wings giving them a good view of her. She was a gray mare with a dark pink mane that had a dark purple highlight, fuzzy pointed ears, small fangs sticking out of her mouth, and lastly a large pair of leathery bat wings. The whole group gasped in awe,

“A...a bat pony? I didn’t know they were real…” Twilight. The pony's expression suddenly turned to one of shock at Twilight and her friends.

“No way! Other ponies?! Here, in the valley? This has never happened before!” she said with glee. She hopped down from her perch and trot right up to Twilight playfully grabbing her face with her hooves to inspect her.

“I can’t believe it! Look at you, a horn, feathered wings, no fangs, and your ears are so small and cute!” she said. Trixie immediately trot over and pushed the mare back from Twilight though.

“Hey, give her some space! You crowding Twilight!” she snapped. The bat pony looked surprised but then quickly apologized,

“Oh sorry, its just we’ve never had any pony come out here before. I got little over excited. So what are you doing here? Can we talk? Can I help? Can we hangout? Oh, I’m Lullaby Moonlight by the way. Nice to meet you!” she said as she stood up excited again dancing in place eager to talk more. Every pony relaxed when they saw how friendly she was, Twilight smiled and walked up to Lullaby.

“Hi Lullaby, I’m Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends. Trixie, Sweetie Belle, Gabby, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. We came out here looking for someone, do you know where we could find the “Children of the Night?”” she asked. Lullaby’s face lit up with a smile that rivaled Pinkie as she held her face with her hooves.

“Of course I do! That’s us!!! We’re the Children of the Night!” she cheered, “Come on, I’ll show you the garden where we all live! You’re gonna love it!”

Lullaby led them through a small path in the valley leading them into a path overgrown with vegetation, flowers and fresh berries growing everywhere. Twilight and the others were awe struck, but Twilight came to a stop when she saw a mural painted on the wall. Lullaby looked back and saw Twilight looking and walked up to her,

“Pretty isn’t it? That’s the story of how we all got here! Wanna hear it?” She asked excitedly clapping her front hooves together, Twilight naturally nodded curious about the bat ponies. Lullaby pointed to the left most image of the mural where shadowy drawn bat ponies were at,

“Long ago, we bat ponies were mean and scary! We were mean to all the other tribes and scared them off, no one came to see us ever.” Lullaby explained, she pointed to the next part of the mural showing an Abyssian woman sending the bat ponies onto an earth pony village.

“Then the witch came, an old Abyssian witch who used her magic to control us. She sent us out to bring ponies from all the other tribes back to use in her magics to keep herself young.” Lullaby pointed to the center picture which showed six ponies defeating the witch, Twilight recognized one of them as Starswirl the bearded.

“Then the heroes came and battled the witch, defeating her and setting us all free!” She moved on to the next picture which showed all the bat ponies huddled together the other tribes casting them out.

“But every pony was scared of us after the witch was gone, we weren’t being controlled anymore but we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. So we went and hid away from them all.” Twilight noticed the last image had a few vines and branches covering it up, but she used her magic to move it away and she gasped at what she saw.

“Then one night, SHE came. Our beloved mother, the Mare of the moon, and she taught us so much. She showed us that we could be just as much of a part of pony society as every pony else. And promised to one day welcome us to Canterlot the great city where she lived.” Lullaby explained. The final picture of the mural being a gorgeous image of Luna clad in a black dress decorated with a Crescent moon insignia and stars. Luna was standing so proud and elegant in the image, the bat ponies in the picture kneeling and praising her. Lullaby sat next to Twilight a big smile on her face, Twilight looked at her a little puzzled though.

“Um, if the Mare of the Moon said she’d welcome you all to Canterlot...why are you still here? Why not there too?” Twilight asked. Lullaby’s smile faded a bit,

“Oh...um, no pony really knows why. All the stories and elders in the garden say she used to come all the time. But one day, she just...stopped. We never saw her again, but, some of us still think she’ll come back, maybe one day. I know she will.” Lullaby explained. Twilight and the others at silently, thinking about Lullaby’s story Twilight had an idea of what might have happened. Luna must have become Nightmare Moon before returning, that was so long ago and they’ve all been here waiting for her she thought. Lullaby stood up and got her smile back quick though,

“But you’re not here for this, right? You’re here to meet all of us aren’t you? Come on, its just his way!” she said before standing up and trotting ahead while humming a cheerful tune.

Trixie walked up beside Twilight and whispered quietly to her, “Do we...tell her? Tell her why Princess Luna never came back?”

Twilight shook her head, “No, not just yet at least. Let’s go meet all of them and get them to help first. Once it’s all over Luna herself can talk to them I think that’d be best.” Twilight whispered back. The group followed Lullaby into the cave, the entrance was a little dark but as they got deeper in a few mushrooms that naturally glowed in the dark provided the ideal lighting. Then finally they came to a massive underground cavern, where a large village filled with all sorts of plants, trees, and glowing mushrooms could be seen. They all stood in awe at the sight of all the bat ponies going about their day, Lullaby then turned and held up her hoof smiling and announced.

“Welcome to the Garden of Shadows, the home of the bat ponies!”

Author's Note

:yay: Next update is at long last finished. I will admit Lullaby's entrance was a parody of Zipp's from Gen5. Which was a good scene and felt like a good way to introduce the first of the bat ponies. :pinkiehappy: Which I'm hoping everyone is happy to finally know what makes them so unique. I actually was gonna do a little more with this chapter, but then I realized I failed to brainstorm some good bat pony names for the other characters I had planned. :twilightblush: But next update I'll go more in depth with the Garden of Shadows and the bat ponies who live there. Hope you enjoyed this update! Leave a comment if you did!

Garden of Shadows

Twilight and her friends followed Lullaby as she they walked into the town, they were awestruck at how beautiful the town was. It was almost like it a moonlit sky from the glow of the mushrooms above that were providing all the light.

“Ever pony look!!” Lullaby shouted, Twilight and the others all stopped to see Lullaby getting as many bat ponies attention as she could.

“We actually have visitors!!! Real visitors!” Lullaby continued. All the bat ponies in town stood staring back surprised, an awkward hush falling over area. Twilight smiled and nervously waved hello to them all, some of the bat ponies began to talk and whisper among themselves most of them curious or surprised by the sight of Twilight and the others. A few even approached them, then a slightly larger pony flew down to Lullaby adorned in dark blue armor his expression being an angry one.

“Lullaby Moonlight! What’re you doing bringing strangers into the garden?!” he demanded.

Lullaby rolled her eyes at him and answered quick, “Because...they were looking for us! And there’s no rules that say we have to keep other ponies out! That’s not what the Mare of the Moon taught us, she told us to be nice to every pony!” As the two talked Twilight looked at the stallions armor and noticed what was clearly Luna's cutie mark adorned on the front of the chest piece, but she didn't say anything just yet. The stallion’s scowl got more annoyed by Lullaby’s answer.

“Don’t go spouting that foals story about the Mare of the Moon out loud, she’s not real...there’s only ever been one Alicorn in existence and she controlled the sun, not the moon!” he said. Twilight eyes widened in surprise by his words, she didn’t expect to hear a bat pony think Luna wasn’t even real. The stallion looked at Twilight though and looked up and down her,

“Well, there was at least…” and then he looked at the others his expression being a little less angry, “They can stay if they want, but they better behave! Anything they do I’m holding YOU responsible Lullaby.” he said before turning and flying away. Lullaby put her hooves to her face and made a silly face once his back was turned, then went back to Twilight.

“Sorry about that, that was Night Shade. He’s in charge of the town guard, he seems mean but he really just wants every pony to be safe.” Lullaby explained.

“What’d he mean by the Mare of Moon is a foals tale?” Applejack asked as she walked up.

“Oh, well...not every pony here believes the stories...I mean, I can kind of understand why. I mean, if some pony like the Mare of the Moon really did exist why did she just stop coming all the time? No pony just up and vanishes like that, right? But...I still like to believe the story is true, there has to be some ponies that were our friends right?” Lullaby said.

“But he’s wrong, the Mare…” Twilight quickly put her hoof over Applejack’s mouth before she could finish saying anymore.

“That’s absolutely right Lullaby! I mean, we’re already friends right?” Twilight replied nervously.

Lullaby happily smiled and nodded saying, “Come on! I’ll show you the rest of the garden! You’re gonna love it!” Lullaby happily trot off, Trixie, Pinkie, Sweetie, and Fluttershy following her. Applejack and Gabby then turned to Twilight,

“Hey now, why’d y’all go and do that for?!” Applejack snapped back. Twilight shushed Applejack getting her to lower her voice.

“I’m really sorry Applejack, I am. But...I’m not so sure now’s the right time to tell them. I know we need to get their help, but I don’t want to tell them something that could split the whole town. Think about what could happen.” Twilight said. Applejack was naturally against, she felt being honest was the better solution but she also knew Twilight was right. Simply telling the bat ponies with no physical proof could cause more harm than good.

“I’m not saying we should lie to them, that’s the last thing we should do right now. But, maybe just hold off on telling them about it for now. Okay?” Twilight said. Applejack bit her lip in annoyance, she wanted to object but she trusted Twilight’s judgment too.

“Alright, we’ll do it your way for now sugar cube. But I want you to tell them everything when this is over, deal?” Applejack said offering a hoofshake, Twilight eagerly agreed and shook Applejack’s hoof.

“Hey! Stop falling behind! We’ve got a whole town to explore!” Pinkie shouted to the others, Twilight, Gabby, and Applejack quickly turned and ran to catch up with the others.

Lullaby happily hopped along the path ahead of every pony,

“Come on, this is my favorite part of the town! Over here!” she shouted enthusiastically. They moved past all the buildings and came to a large underground orchard, full of fruit trees that had a massive assortment of fruits and berries.

“Wow...you can grow all this underground, without any sunlight?” Trixie asked seeing how lush and healthy the trees all were. Lullaby nodded with glee,

“Sure can, the mushrooms provide the light they need and the grounds nice and fertile too! This is where we get most of our food from!” Lullaby answered.

Then a stallion about the same age as Lullaby shouted to her, “Lullaby, where have you been? You were supposed to help with…” he slowly came to a stop when he noticed Twilight and the others.

“Oh...wow, I heard someone mention we had other ponies in town but...you’re real. And I’m guessing my sister showed you in.” he added. Lullaby walked over and hugged the stallion,

“I did! This is my brother, Harvest Moon! He’s the one who runs the orchard!” she said. Harvest’s coat was the same shade of gray as Lullaby’s but his mane was shorter and a dark shade of blue with a pale gray highlight.

“Um, hi. Its nice to meet all of you I suppose. I’ve never met a unicorn before...or a Pegasus, or an Earth Pony…or um…” Harvest said as his gaze went from pony to pony but came to a stop when he looked at Twilight and Gabby.

“I’m a griffon, my name's Gabby, its awesome to meet you! You look just like Lullaby too!” she said. Harvest’s gaze shifted to Lullaby a little annoyed now,

“Oh please don’t remind me...she’s a hoof full some days…” he groaned. Applejack walked past them looking at all the trees and the fresh fruit hanging from them, but noticed the bat ponies were all flying and picking the fruit one at a time and putting them into satchels they all wore.

“This is a mighty fine orchard you’ve going, but that’s no way to get everything down. Y’all will be at it all day like this.” Applejack said to Harvest and Lullaby. The two siblings looked at her puzzled, Lullaby letting her brother go.

“Come on Pinkie, give me hoof for a second.” Applejack said. The two earth ponies got a few empty baskets from nearby and set them up around the bottom of one of the trees. Then Applejack stood with her back to the tree and gave a good firm buck knocking a good number of apples down from the tree. Harvest and the other bat ponies looked fairly surprised by Applejack’s display, Harvest walking up to her and looking at the apples in the basket.

“Huh, I would’ve never thought of that. Is that how earth pony’s tend their orchards?” he asked. Applejack smiled feeling like the center of attention now,

“Sure is, why don’t Pinkie and I show y’all a few tricks to maybe help out?” she asked. Harvest and the other bat ponies eagerly got close to listen to Applejack’s advice.

Once Lullaby saw Harvest was distracted she snuck over to Twilight and whispered, “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the town while he’s busy.” Twilight giggled and they all followed Lullaby as she led them away.

Lullaby led them the town, the bat ponies around them stopping to look occasionally. Twilight was glad to see none of them were really afraid of them. Cautious maybe, but not scared. As they followed Lullaby Twilight noticed a rather large stone building that had a carving of Luna above the entrance, she paused and looked at it puzzled. She still had trouble wondering why some of the bat ponies thought she wasn’t real, she seemed to be depicted almost everywhere in town Twilight thought. Lullaby nudged Twilight as she stood looking,

“Are you okay? Whatcha looking at Twilight?” she asked. Twilight cleared her throat and pointed to the building,

“Oh, I was just um...wondering what that building was.” she said. Lullaby looked over to where she was pointing and answered.

“That? That’s just the library, we don’t have many ponies maintaining it though. We rarely get any new books.” Lullaby said. Twilight’s eyes lit up with excitement when Lullaby told her it was the library,

“Do you mind if I go look? I can’t imagine what kind of books you might have that I haven’t seen before.” Twilight asked as she trot in place. Lullaby couldn’t help but giggle at seeing Twilight excited and nodded in agreement. The purple mare scurrying off to get inside, she pushed the double doors of the entrance open and rushed inside. The library was fairly big inside, close to the same size as the Canterlot public library she thought.

“Did you want some company Twilight?” a soft voice asked from behind, Twilight turned to see Fluttershy standing behind her.

“Oh sure, I’d love that Fluttershy.” she replied. The two walked deeper into the library and Twilight began to look at the books lined up on the shelf, the books were all old but in remarkably good condition she thought.

“I can’t believe how old some of these books are, who knows what kind of knowledge or stories they might have that the Canterlot ponies thought may have been lost!” Twilight said. Fluttershy looked at the bookshelves opposite of Twilight, picking a book up off the shelf and looking at the title.

“I’ve never heard of this one before. The Legend of Epona: Tale of two seasons.” Fluttershy said, she looked back at the shelf and saw there were several others in the series.

“Oh my...I heard ponies talking but, I didn’t realize…” an elderly voice spoke up. Twilght and Fluttershy turned to see a pair of bat ponies standing and looking at them in awe. The older pony was a faded shade of gray with white hair, bushy mustache and beard. The second was a cream colored mare, with a red mane, and large round glasses on.

“Oh, hello. Sorry we didn’t knock or tell you we were here. I got a little excited. My name’s Twilight, Twilight Sparkle. This is Fluttershy.” Twilight said. Fluttershy shyly waved hello to the two, the mare leaned over to the older stallion and whispered to him.

“She’s just like her...right?” The stallion cleared his throat and walked over to Twilight shaking her hoof and greeting her properly.

“Hello there, my name is Pennyworth. I run the Garden’s library, this is my assistant.” he said. The mare readjusted her glasses and waved to Twilight and Fluttershy,

“Hello, I’m Felt Quill. Are you by chance...an alicorn by chance?” she asked. Twilight nodded with a smile,

“That’s right, I wasn’t born one though. Its a little complicated how it all happened."

Pennyworth scratched his chin hearing Twilight’s words, “Interesting, so managed to ascend by means of magic or some other method?” he asked. Twilight was surprised by Pennyworth’s question,

“Yeah, actually. That’s pretty accurate.” she replied. Pennyworth sat down in front of Twilight more curious about her,

“Tell me, are you by chance familiar with Celestia? She was one of the first alicorns in recorded history you know.” he asked.

Twilight smiled and answered, “Yes I do, as a matter of fact I live with her back in Canterlot! She’s my mother, well adoptive mother. I lost my parents when I was young and she took me and my brothers in.” Pennyworth’s eyes went wide in surprise, Felt Quill having a similar reaction to Twilight’s answer.

“Really? So she’s still alive? Alicorns age exactly like I theorized then, I need to write this down!” he said as he took an old beat up journal from pocket and began to take notes.

“I’ll go get some tea, Pennyworth will be asking her questions for a while now.” Felt said before setting the books she had down,

“Oh, I’ll help. I’ll bet Twilight has just as many questions about bat ponies for him.” Fluttershy said before following her.

Twilight spent almost a good two hours talking and going through various books with Pennyworth, while Fluttershy talked to Felt Quill. The front doors to the library opened as the rest of her friends and Lullaby came trotting inside.

“Hi Twilight! Have you been having as much fun as the rest of the us?! The bat ponies are so friendly! A little shy here and there, but they’re super friendly!” Pinkie said as she hopped over to Twilight. Pennyworth moved away so Twilight could talk to her friends for a bit, Applejack, Trixie, and Pinkie all sitting near her.

“So, did y’all tell any of them about...you know?” Applejack asked. Twilight’s ears went down as she looked away not sure what to say to her friend.

“No...not yet. I just…” she replied. Trixie put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and looked her in the eye and smiled,

“Hey, if you think this is a bad idea then we can try something else. Go find help someplace else, maybe Gabby can help us convince the griffons to help or something. Its up to you though Twilight.” she said. Twilight smiled and looked at Pinkie and Applejack all the mares smiling back at her. Twilight then took a deep a breath and stood and walked over to the bat ponies nearby.

“Pennyworth, Felt, Lullaby, I have to tell you something. The reason we all came here, it wasn’t just because we were solely looking for all of you. We came here because we needed to find help, some creature has taken every pony in Canterlot prisoner and we had nowhere to turn. So… I was sent here by…” before Twilight could finish though a massive boom echoed throughout the cavern shaking the library.

Then voices of panic shortly sounded, “We’re under attack! Every pony run!!!”

Author's Note

Phew, got this one done sooner than I thought I would. But inspiration struck and I took full advantage of it. Big thanks to all the friends who helped give me some good bat pony names to use. :yay: That was probably one of the harder parts of this chapter, I'm terrible at pony names usually. :twilightsheepish: Well hopefully I can get the next update up just as quickly, in the meantime be sure to leave a comment or two and drop a like as usual. Take care everyone! :ajsmug:

Invasion (Spike Edition)

A little over a day ago, just before the Canterlot invasion…

Spike walked through the halls alongside Kibitz, he was looking through a few papers as he talked to the older stallion.

“I’m glad Shining finally proposed to Cadence, seems like he’s going all out getting the wedding under way. Will make this the biggest celebration that Canterlot has ever seen!” Spike said. Kibitz smiled at watching the young dragon, and took the papers from Spike as he finished reading them.

“Have they begun organizing the guest list yet, sir?” Kibitz asked. Spike shook his head no,

“No not yet, and I told you that you can just call me Spike. How many times do I have to remind you Kibitz?” he asked. Kibitz chuckled and looked ahead with a smile,

“At least once more, same as always sir.” Spike suddenly came to a stop as he looked out the nearby window and saw the storm clouds approaching the courtyard.

“That’s weird, we weren’t supposed to get any rain today. What Pegasus sent the rain clouds our way?” he asked. Kibitz looked out the window with Spike and saw the airships slowly emerge from the clouds.

“My word, that’s no storm cloud!” Kibitz exclaimed, the ships slowed to a stop their anchors suddenly launching out and lodging themselves into the courtyard below. The ramp to the lead ship opened and a small yeti emerged carrying a speaker box, in front of him a large group of Canterlot gathered to meet them. Spike then noticed Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Sweetie Belle, and Cadence standing at the front of all the soldiers.

“What the heck? Are we getting visitors today or something?” Spike asked, Kibitz had no answer though, he was just as puzzled as Spike was as to what was going on right now. The speaker box the small yeti had blared to life as he introduced the leader of the fleet, and shortly after Tempest emerged from the airship. The two couldn’t hear what Tempest was saying as she was nowhere near the speaker, but then her troops erupted from the rest of the airships and began to swarm the courtyard and attack the soldiers. Spike was suddenly in a panic, watching as a battle erupted in the middle of the castle courtyard.

“What’s happening? I thought they were just talking!?” he shouted. Kibitz knew what was happening though and quickly grabbed the young dragon and rushed down the hall with him.

“Quickly sir, we need to get you somewhere safe!” he said. Spike ran alongside Kibitz throwing all the papers he had into the air behind him as tried to keep up.

“What’s going on?!” Spike shouted again, Kibitz looked back at Spike.

“We’re under attack young sir! Those creatures are attacking the castle and Canterlot! I have to get you to safety right away!” Kibitz shouted. Spike followed Kibitz closely but his mind was on his family at that moment. They were right at the front of it all, were they safe? Did they escape? What was happening? He thought.

Kibitz and Spike rushed through the castle, all the ponies in the castle now in a state of panic as the Storm King’s forces began to invade the castle interior. A few came in breaking down doors, other smashing in through windows, there was chaos all around the castle. Kibitz slid to a stop as two soldiers turned to face him and Spike. Kibitz looked around in a panic but quickly acted.

“This way sir, in here!” Kibitz said as he ushered Spike into a nearby room. Kibitz slammed the door shut behind him and blocked it off by moving some furniture with his magic.

“That won’t keep them out forever, over here quickly.” Kibitz said as he quickly trot to the far wall. Spike watched him began to tap his hooves all along the lower area of the wall until finally finding a hidden switch that revealed a concealed passage.

“This way sir, we’ll escape through here. It should lead away from all this.” he said. Spike didn’t argue or question Kibitz instead running into the passage. Once inside though he heard the sound of the doorway sliding shut behind and turned to see Kibitz had closed him inside. Spike ran over and began to try and open the door back up, but then he heard what was happening on the other side. The soldiers had broken in and could hear them grunting and fighting with Kibitz before Spike heard him shouting.

“Let go of me, you ruffians!! Let go!!” Spike stepped back and covered his mouth in shock and waited until the sound died down. He turned and looked back to where the passage led and swallowed the lump in his throat before walking towards the end of the passage. Spike walked down the dimly lit passage not knowing how long he’d been in there, maybe a few minutes? An Hour? More? He wasn’t sure anymore. Finally he reached the end and looked around, some light was shining in from cracks in the wall so he could tell there was something on the other side. Spike pawed at the wall trying to find a way through until he managed to hit a switch and open the wall.

Spike poked his head out and saw he was in the kitchen, although it was empty now. Cooking utensils, dishes, pots, and pans were thrown all around the room a sign that the soldiers had come through here to capture the ponies working. Spike cautiously walked to the doorway and looked into the hallway, a pair of soldiers stood at the end of the hall and he quickly ducked back into the kitchen. Spike hid under one the tables and leaned back against the legs, he was scared now, he didn’t know where his family was or if they were even safe, worst of all he didn’t know what to do. The sound of footsteps caught his attention though as he heard a voice walked into the kitchen.

“Oh man, all that work gave me an appetite. What kind of snacks they got in this place anyway?” Spike looked to see the gray feet of the small yeti from before. He walked around the kitchen rummaging through the cabinets looking for something to eat. He turned and walked towards the far counter and then came to a stop,

“Ahh! Cake! And with lots of icing no less!” he said before snickering and climbing onto the stool next to the table Spike was hiding under. Spike listened to him grabbing handfuls of cake and eating for a few seconds, it was almost nauseating listening to him he thought. But then he paused for a moment,

“Aw man, gonna get my uniform dirty at this rate. Don’t want the commander to see me like that.” he said. A few seconds later a black tabard with the Storm King’s insignia fell to the floor in front of Spike, his eyes widened as he saw an opportunity and slowly reached over and grabbed it. Spike crawled out from under the table and made his way around the room away from the gluttonous yeti. Once Spike got to the doorway he threw the tabard over his head to wear, it was a little big but otherwise a perfect disguise he thought. He looked to see the two guards standing at the end of the hall and took a long deep breath before approaching them. Once he got close they looked down at him, but Spike kept walking with a confident smile.

“How’s it going guys? Any problems?” Spike asked. The two shook their heads no, Spike then pointed to both of them and smiled.

“Well keep up the good work, don’t let anyone sneak past you now.” he said before marching off. Once Spike got down the hall and around the corner though he leaned against the wall and started breathing heavy, he couldn’t believe his disguise worked. But now that he could walk around the castle he had a new priority in mind, finding and rescuing his family.

Author's Note

:facehoof: Okay I know I said this was only going to be one chapter involving what Spike was up to. But then I got more and more ideas with what I could do, and rather than have the chapter be over 2k in words I decided it would be best to break it up. :twilightsheepish: Sorry if anyone wanted the story to get back to Twilight quickly, but I wanted to try and stretch out the part involving Spike. I will try to keep it down to 2 maybe 3 more chapters before getting back to focusing on Tempest and Twilight though. So just try and be patient for now. :yay:

Rebellious

Spike walked through the castle cautiously, the halls and a few rooms were in complete disarray. The sight of seeing the castle he grew up in ransacked was a little upsetting to him but he did his best to keep his focus on finding his family. Eventually Spike found his way to the courtyard, and the sight shook him to his core. All the soldiers were gathering up every pony putting them in chains or cages. Every fiber of Spike’s being wanted him to rush and help, to start freeing every pony but he also knew if he tried that the Storm King’s forces would see through his disguise. He had to play this smart, no matter how painful the situation was. Spike began to walk through the courtyard and towards the city, the farther he got from the castle though the worse it all got. The Storm King’s forces had completely taken over Canterlot in less than a day and he still didn’t know where his family was at. As Spike walked he soon heard a voice call out to him quietly, he looked around before seeing Moondancer locked in a nearby cage with Juniper. Spike looked around for guards before quickly dashing over to the two of them,

“Hey! Your okay. Well, I mean, your locked in a cage, but your not hurt are you?” he asked.

Moondancer shook her head, “No were fine, neither of us got hurt. But what’s going on? Who are these guys? What are they doing in Canterlot?” Moondancer asked. Spike didn’t have an answer though he was just as confused as Moondancer was,

“I don’t know...I can’t find any of the princesses either. Have you seen them? Cadence? Twilight? Maybe Celestia?” Spike asked. The two mares shook their heads no,

“We don’t know, I’m sorry Spike.” Moondancer answered.

“But I saw Shining and Sunset! That pony who was in charge had them locked up in a cage near the town square. Maybe you can free them and find out how to save everyone!” Juniper said. Spike smiled, hearing that some of his family was nearby was the best stroke of luck he’d had all day.

“Okay, I’ll go see what I can do to get them free and then I’ll be right back for you guys. All of you, I promise I’ll find a way to save every pony!” Spike said. The two mares smiled and nodded at Spike before he turned to rush towards the town square.

Spike made his way towards the town square, he couldn’t help but look at all the ponies in cages and chains. He hoped no one else recognized, much as he wanted to help he had to stay low profile until he found Sunset and Shining. Spike finally got to the town square and saw the fountain, looking around frantically he eventually spotted Shining and Sunset locked in cages next to one another. The sight of his family put a smile on Spike’s face and he rushed as fast as he could towards the two them. Just as he was about to get close enough to call out to them though a large hand suddenly grabbed him and picked him up. Spike looked to see it was one of the Storm King’s soldiers, did he figure it out? Did this one see through his disguise? Before could answer the carried him away from the town square,

“Wait! No! I gotta go talk to those ponies!! Put me down!” he begged. The soldier walked with Spike in his grip towards the far side of the town square, Spike was scared he was going to be locked up with everyone else, that he’d failed before he could even save one pony. Then the guard set Spike down on his feet, he turned to look back at the guard confused why he just put him down. The soldier pointed to a stack of crates, then to a nearby airship. Spike felt a wave of relief wash over him, he wasn’t discovered, the soldier just thought he was a worker who was slacking off. With a nervous grin Spike walked over and picked up one of the smaller crates. He had to play along for now, first chance he would try to slip away he thought. As Spike walked toward the airship he saw a group of Ornithians carrying some of the crates onto the ship as well, he wondered why they were here, maybe they were part of the Storm King’s army? Spike didn’t let it distract him though, he walked onto the airship and set down the crate before walking off the ship to get another. As he picked up the crate though he soon heard a familiar voice.

“Are you sure that’s where she went commander? She could’ve gone anywhere don’t you think?” Grubber said. Spike ducked behind a large crate and poked his head out from around the side. The small yeti he stole the uniform from before was following the purple mare from before. The yeti was now wearing a large t-shirt with a poorly drawn insignia on it, Spike listened in as the two walked past him.

“She went to that town, its the closest place that has other ponies. The Storm King demands that I catch the last of the princesses, and I don’t plan to disappoint him…” Tempest said. Spike wasn’t sure who Tempest was talking about, but this was great news! If one of the princesses was free then he had a good chance of getting more help if he found her first. Spike had to think of a way to follow though, he wasn’t likely to just sneak on board Tempest’s airship someone might realize he was wearing Grubber’s uniform. Spike turned and thought for a moment trying to think of a plan, that’s when he heard a loud squawk and looked up to see the Ornithians talking amongst themselves.

“Everything loaded on board the ship? Then everyone get on board...Storm King isn’t going to tolerate delays.” the captain said. The crew of birds all walked onto the airship and began to raise the loading ramp. Spike saw this as his best opportunity and sprinted as fast he could towards the airship as the ramp raised upwards. Spike made a last second desperate leap and at the last minute managed to grab hold of the ramp and climb on board. Just as Spike relaxed though he felt another hand pick him up and lift him up by the tabard he was wearing.

“Captain! We’ve got us a stowaway!” he shouted.

The large Onithian walked over to the rest of the crew, his captain standing at the center of them all. He dropped Spike onto the deck and the little dragon looked up nervously at the tall white bird woman before him. Spike hadn’t thought whether they were loyal to the Storm King or not, was he going to be captured or worse? The stepped towards Spike and looked down at him, she reached over and grabbed the tabard he was wearing and pulled it off over his head.

“This isn’t is yours, the Storm King doesn’t have any dragons working under him last I checked.” she said. Spike looked back and forth at the rest of the crew unsure was about to happen to him.

“What do we do with him captain?” one of the others asked. She stood upright and crossed her arms looking down at Spike before speaking up.

“Throw him overboard, we’ve got work to do.” she said.

“What?! But we’re in the sky! I can’t fly!” Spike stuttered, the crew moved in towards Spike and just as they began to reach for him a loud steam whistle went off interrupting them all.

“Lunch time!” the Captain announced, before Spike knew what was even going on he suddenly found himself sitting in the ships mess hall. A bowl full of slop and bird seed in front of him. The rest sat around him quietly eating their meals, almost ignoring Spike as they did.

“Wait...so, one minute you were ready to throw me overboard, and now your feeding me?” Spike asked. The Ornithian beside Spike let out another loud Squawk before mashing his face into his bowl to eat.

“We’re on our lunch break right now, we’ll figure out what to do with you afterwards.” the captain muttered. Spike watched her and the rest of the crew and saw how depressed they all were,

“Umm...do you really work for, what was the name again? The Storm King?” he asked. The whole crew seemed to get depressed at Spike’s question, but no one spoke up and answered him either. The little dragon looked around and saw the flag with Storm King’s insignia on the wall behind him. He stood up in his chair and lifted the corner to see what was behind it, to his surprise it was a jolly roger.

He looked back at the captain and asked, “Your pirates? All of you?”

The captain sighed in annoyance, “We used to be…” Spike turned and sat back down in his chair,

“What happened? How come your doing this? Shouldn’t you be out looking for treasure and adventure and stuff?” Spike asked. The captain didn’t look up though she just slowly stirred her food with the spoon in her hand.

“We we’re pirates, but then we tried to steal from the Storm King...we got caught, and rather than lock us all up. He decided to make us do this for him...We went from adventurers to slaves pretty much.” she said. Spike looked around and saw how miserable they all were, Spike then stood up and climbed up onto the table.

“So that’s why? You lost one fight and you all just gave up?” he said. The crew all looked up at Spike as he walked towards the captain still talking,

“You guys are pirates! You know the kinds of stories I hear about pirates going on adventures? They fearless, daring, and constantly seeking fame and fortune! This isn’t anything like what a pirate should be!” he said to them. Spike was recalling stories from his time playing Ogres and Oubliettes, but at the moment it seemed the most appropriate.

“Just stop and think about all the stuff your missing out on! The treasure, the fame, the friends you could be making! Is this really how you want to be remembered? Just rolling over and going belly up?” he asked. The crew seemed a little annoyed by Spike’s words, he didn’t know anything about them so who was he to tell them what they should be doing? But then the captain looked down at her bowl her expression turning angry at the slop in front of her. She sprang out of her seat and slapped the bowl across the room into the wall,

“He’s right! Enough is enough, as of right now I quit! Now get rid of all this stupid crap on the walls and raise OUR flag!” she announced. The rest of the crew almost immediately sprang to life at the sudden act of rebellion from their captain, and quickly began to tear down and destroy everything to do with the Storm King on board their ship. One of the crew pushed over a large chest and kicked the lid open revealing all their pirate clothes. The crew quickly changed back into the pirate attire and even gave Spike some of the spare clothes they had, making look like he was part of the crew now. He watched as they raised the jolly roger and opened up all the sails, turning their airship into a proper pirate ship once more. The captain stood next to Spike a smile on her face at the sight of her restored ship and crew,

“By the way, the name’s Celaeno. Captain Celaeno.” she said. Spike smiled and offered to shake hands which she happily did.

“I’m Spike, its great to meetcha.” he answered. Celaeno walked over to the steering and took control of the ship,

“Well then, where to now? I’m feeling a need to make the Storm King angry, any suggestions?” Celaeno asked. Spike stopped to think for a moment about where they could go for help, his mind went back to when he overheard Tempest talking though. A few moments and he quickly realized the place closest to Canterlot where his family could get help. Then with a grin he turned and pointed announcing,

“Captain, set sail for Ponyville! We’ve got an alicorn to catch up to and rescue!”

Author's Note

:yay: New chapter finally up, really dragged my feet with this one. But I did try to draw out Spike's meeting Celaeno and her loyal crew. :pinkiehappy: Tried to think of a better motivation for them to stop working for the Storm King, but then I remembered all it took in the movie was Dashie telling them they could be awesome. Then I thought, "Why not keep it simple?" :twilightsheepish: So next chapter we should be the rescue Twilight part of this arc. I'll try to get the next update done quick (I'll be on vacation next week plenty of time), meanwhile leave a like or two and drop a comment!

Return to Canterlot

Twilight sat in the metal cage, her head hung low, the soldiers carrying it off the airship. She looked up to see Tempest walking ahead of her as they marched back into Canterlot. Everything looked so different now, the skies were black with storm clouds, the buildings and castle in disarray, and flags with the Storm King’s mark everywhere. But what hurt the most was seeing all the ponies chained and caged everywhere, she was supposed to get help, she was supposed to save them all. But Twilight failed she thought, she found the children of the night like her Aunt had asked her to but then she put her friends before her goal again. This was just like Rarity and Nightmare all over again she thought, and she knew every pony would hate her for it all over again. Twilight’s ear perked up as she heard voices call out to her, she looked up to see Shining and Sunset across the way both locked up. Sunset had her front hooves leaning against her cage, a saddened and concerned look on her face. Shining was desperately trying to break free at the sight of his little sister in danger, but stopped when he saw the look on her face. Twilight’s eyes teared up and she couldn’t bring herself to look at them, the guards carried her cage into the castle. Tempest led them into the throne room where the other alicorns were, still turned to stone and frozen in place. Twilight’s eyes went wide as she saw the three of them, Cadence, her aunt, and her mother all petrified and helpless. The guards dropped the cage down across Cadence and Luna, Twilight now facing towards Celestia. Tempest walked over and glared at Twilight,

“Grubber, go inform the Storm King. We have all the alicorns now.” she said. The sound of footsteps caught both their attention though,

“Oh, I already know Tempest. I gotta admit, I honestly didn’t think you’d be able to catch her. Seemed like she was the one who got away, but here she is right next to all the others.” the Storm King announced as he entered the throne room.

Celaeno steered her ship back towards Canterlot, Sweetie Belle sat next to Spike leaning up against him and smiling. Happy to see the little dragon again after everything that had happened the last few days.

“So how exactly did y’all manage to find us? Can’t say I’m surprised, since Tempest managed to catch up to us and Twilight.” Applejack asked. Spike looked at her with a smile,

“We went to Ponyville and asked for help. Which, Lofty says she’s sorry. She told Tempest that Twilight went this way, but she only did it to protect her family!” Spike replied.

“That’s okay, we’ll get Lofty to make it up to us by bringing snacks to the big party I’m gonna throw when this is all over!” Pinkie said with her usual grin. Lullaby was busy running from side to side looking at the scenery around and beneath the airship, an excited smile on her face as she did.

“You alright there Lullaby?” Trixie asked. She turned and looked back at every pony watching her.

“Oh, sorry. I’ve just never been outside the valley or the garden before! Everything’s so new and exciting. And now we’re heading to Canterlot to save Twilight! I’ve only ever read about Canterlot in some of the old books in the library! I can’t wait to see it.” Lullaby said. Every pony looked at one another a little concerned,

“Well, damper your expectations Lullaby. The Storm King is there right now, and it may not be the way you imagined it.” Trixie said. Celaeno took out her telescope and looked ahead of the ship, sure enough Canterlot was finally coming into view and she announced to every one on board. Trixie, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, and Gabby all rushed to the front of the ship and could see the city ahead. The city looked almost ominous from where they were, the dark storm clouds looming overhead, and the airships circling the city.

“Okay, there’s Canterlot. But, does any pony have a plan on how we can get in unnoticed?” Trixie asked. They all looked back and forth at one another but no one really answered, but then Pinkie suddenly sprang to her hooves.

“Oh! Me, me, me, me, me, me!!! I have an idea!”

The Storm King marched towards Twilight in her cage, he leaned down to look at her scratching his chin.

“You sure she’s the last one? A little small compared to the others don’t you think?” he asked. Tempest stood looking at the Storm King,

“Yes, your majesty. She’s the last one.” she replied.

“Ah well, doesn’t much matter to me. I’ll still get what I came here for!” the Storm King announced as he walked to the center of the room, he raised his staff high and slammed it into the center of the room where a magic circle had been etched into the floor. The crystal at the end of his staff began to glow and instantly the magic began to drain from all four alicorns, Twilight grit her teeth and tried to back away as she felt her magic leaving her her, but there was nowhere to go inside the cage. When all the magic was finally drained the Storm King lifted his staff from the floor and looked at the glowing headpiece of his staff in awe.

“Oh, now we’re talking! With this kind of power, no one’s gonna stop me!” he shouted. Tempest walked up beside him,

“Your majesty, I’ve given you what you wanted now…” Tempest was interrupted though.

“Yeah, yeah, one second. Let me see what this baby can do now.” the Storm King said as he aimed towards Twilight. The crystal on his staff began to glow and in massive explosive burst he shredded her cage to pieces and blasted an equally large hole in the castle wall. The sheer force sent Twilight tumbling out and onto the balcony, her body was sore from the pain and she tried to get to her hooves but struggled. The Storm King walked past Twilight laughing and admiring the power he now held in his hands.

“Ha ha ha, that’s the kind of power that I deserve! I wonder what else I can do with this thing now?” he said. Twilight looked to see Tempest watching her, the mare took a deep breath though and walked past her determined to get what she wanted though.

“Your majesty, I’ve given you the power of all four alicorns. Now restore my horn like you promised.” Tempest shouted. He naturally ignored her though, and began to wave his staff left and right. As he did he saw the sun set and the moon rise on the horizon.

“No way! I can control the sun and moon with this thing now?! Ha, ha, ha, Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset.” The Storm King laughed and danced as he moved the sun and moon back and forth to his own amusement. Tempest finally lost her patience though and snapped at him.

“Storm King! You promised you would restore my horn, now give me what you promised!!!” she shouted. The Storm King stopped and turned to look at Temepest annoyed,

“Fix your horn? Really, you still thought after all this time I could do that? I never had any plans to fix your stupid broken horn. This was all about power! Getting the strength I needed to get rid of HIM!!! And once that’s done, I’ll have all of Equestria ripe for the taking! There’s no one who can stop me now!!!” he announced. Tempest’s eyes went wide the Storm King’s words hitting her hard, she grit her teeth and stomped towards him.

“You wouldn’t even have all this if it wasn’t for me! You’re too stupid to accomplish any of this all on your own!” she shouted. The Storm King didn’t take to be insulted lightly though and pointed his staff at Tempest, the head piece glowed and a massive burst of magic erupted out, Tempest countered with her own magic the two beams colliding and building in power before they suddenly exploded knocking Tempest back towards Twilight. The Storm King smiled at the two mares lying helpless before him.

“I think its about time for a change in the weather, don’t you?” he said before slamming the staff down and shooting a burst of magic into the sky causing the clouds to become darker and start storm with the force of a hurricane.

Celaeno’s ship had docked next to the Canterlot courtyard, she and her crew lugging a large wooden crate with the Storm King’s insignia printed on all sides. They made their way towards the castle without drawing too much attention. But when they reached the front entrance they were stopped by Grubber and a few guards.

“What’s this? Where do you think your going exactly?” he asked. Celaeno held up a clipboard and pretended to look through the papers attached.

“Party supplies, special ordered to celebrate the Storm King’s big victory. We’re running late though so if you don’t mind.” she said. Grubber stopped her again as she tried to pass,

“Aren’t you that captain who’s supposed to be making deliveries back to the Storm King’s castle? Not here? Little suspicious you’re here now.” Grubber said. The guards surrounding Celaeno and her crew took a few steps closer, weapons in hand. Celaeno was annoyed, this was a good plan it just didn’t get them as far as she’d hoped. Celaeno drew her cutlass and with a sturdy kick to the crate all the sides popped open to reveal the rest of her pony friends. They all sprang into action, Trixie zapping a few guards with her magic, Applejack bucking the closest guard with her hooves, Pinkie throwing pies (which no one knew where she got them), Gabby and Lullaby jumping on the heads of guards nearest to them. Sweetie Belle, Spike and Fluttershy quickly raced to the trapped ponies closest to them and started to release as many captives as they could. Grubber naturally panicked and ran for cover shouting for more soldiers to come and help. It was pure madness in the courtyard now as the fighting broke out. Spike and Sweetie Belle quickly searched around together,

“SPIKE!!! Over here!” a voice shouted out to him. Sweetie and Spike looked to see Shining and Sunset in their cages, a group of guards in the cages around them as well. The two ran over and Spike breathed his fire out weakening the lock on Shining’s cage enough for him to buck his way out. Sweetie used her magic on Sunset’s lock and managed to unlock it with pure luck. Once out Sunset and Shining instantly started to free more Canterlot guards, helping turn the tide of the fight. Between Celaeno and her crew, Twilight’s friends, and the guards that were released it seemed like they were going to take back Canterlot, especially now that Shining was leading the charge. But then Grubber returned, standing at the top of the staircase to the castle.

“Hey ponies! Give up while you still can! We’ve got you outnumbered!” he shouted. More soldiers came pouring out of the castle, and from the city surrounding them all. Canterlot had more soldiers but most of them we’re still locked up, slowly the Storm King’s forces closed in. Spike and the others soon found themselves all surrounded and trapped. Sweetie Belle hugged Spike tight, afraid of what was coming next. Grubber made his way through the soldiers and looked the small group of resistance before him.

“Ha, ha, nice try ponies but no one can defeat...wait, what’s that?” he said. Grubber suddenly went from confident to confused as he looked past them and to the sky. They all looked and saw what he was looking at, initially it looked like it was just a flock of birds but it was getting closer. The closer it got the more visible it became, and Lullaby’s face lit up with a bright smile when she realized what it was.

“It’s the Children of the NIGHT!!!” she shouted. Leading the charge was none other than Nightshade, all the other bat ponies following close behind him. They dove towards the Storm King’s forces and with a gallant battle cry he announced,

“For Canterlot! FOR TWILIGHT!!!”

Author's Note

:facehoof: Oh lord, I really procrastinated on this one. Meant to do this during my vacation at the start of the month. But forgot, then said I'd do it on my next day off, but didn't. And before I knew it August was almost over. Tried to make up for by stretching the chapter out a little more at least. :twilightsmile: But at long last, the big Canterlot battle is here. Hopefully I'll get the next update done asap, but that also will come down to how busy I am with work and other things back at home. In the meanwhile, enjoy the newest update and leave me some comments! :yay:

Retaking Canterlot

The children of the night descended on Canterlot, attacking the Storm King’s forces and sending them into complete disarray. Grubber in a panic ran and hid as fast as he could. Shining and Sunset were completely dumbstruck,

“Are those...BAT ponies? Why are they here, and helping us?” Sunset asked.

With a grin Sweetie looked up at Sunset, “They’re our new friends! Princess Luna sent Twilight and I go find them! Lullaby is one too!” Sweetie said while pointing to Lullaby who was standing next to her. Shining and Sunset both looked at her as she waved and smiled at them.

“I thought she was a pegasus, how am I just noticing the wings and ears?” he asked. They quickly refocused on the battle at hand though at the sound of the bat ponies fighting.

“Right, figure it out later. First, we free every pony we can!” Sunset said. Shining nodded in agreement before he and Sunset rushed off to free the others.

“Where’s Twilight at? We still need to find her!” Gabby asked, the sound of thunder caught their attention a flash of lightning striking one of the castle towers. The storm was getting worse above lightning and wind getting increasingly faster. Pinkie climbed on Applejack’s back and pointed at the castle.

“Lookie! I see Twilight! Right there!!!” she shouted, every pony looked at where she was pointing and saw Twilight on the balcony above alongside the Storm King and Tempest.

“Come on, let’s go!” Gabby shouted. The griffon went to fly up but the lightning began to strike the courtyard where the battle was being fought.

“Better stay down here with us Gabby, you might get hit if you try and just fly up there.” Trixie said. Sweetie and Spike took the lead but turned back to the others,

“This way! We can show you how to get up to the balcony where Twilight is!” Spike shouted back. Pinkie, Trixie, Fluttershy, Gabby, and Applejack followed close behind running into the castle.

The Storm King stood laughing as the storm above them grew larger and more out of control, he pointed his staff towards Canterlot and massive pillar of lightning came down leveling an entire building in a flash.

“Ha ha ha!! Take a good look you two, first I’m going to raze this whole city to the ground! Then I’ll put all of you back in chains and drag you back to my kingdom as slaves. Then I’ll finally go back his lair destroy him!!! There’s no one to stop me now!” he shouted. The Storm King stood confidently leveling building after building in Canterlot, Twilight and Tempest watched in shock, he had no disregard for the ponies living there or his own troops now. Tempest grit her teeth and fired a burst of magic from her horn at the Storm King, he swung his staff and parried the blast. The magic striking the balcony floor and destroying it, Tempest fired more magic at the Storm King but he managed to avoid it all.

“Oh come on you can do better than that, can’t you Tempest?” he taunted as he held up his staff. The gem on the end began to glow and the wind picked up faster, Tempest tried to stay ground but slowly she was lifted off the ground her hooves flailing as she tried to grab onto something. Tempest was a seconds away from being thrown off the balcony when Twilight grabbed her front hooves holding onto her. Tempest was shocked to her trying to save her,

“What’re you doing!?” she shouted. Twilight pulled as hard as she could, but her strength wasn’t what it normally was her magic drained.

“I’m trying to help you!” she shouted back. “But why?” Tempest asked. Twilight pulled harder but the wind was too strong now,

“Because...that’s what friends do!!!” she answered. Twilight could feel the wind pulling at her, she was getting dragged away with Tempest. Just as she was about to lift into the air though she saw a pair of orange and pink hooves grab Tempest’s as well. She looked to see Applejack and Pinkie pulling alongside her, holding onto them was the rest of her friends.

“PULL!!!” Sweetie shouted, with one final tug they pulled Tempest to safety and back onto the balcony. She looked up to see every pony gathered around Twilight,

“You came! You all came to help!” Twilight said as she hugged her friends.

“Well of course we did, you didn’t think the Great and Powerful Trixie would let you have all the glory did you Twilight?” Trixie asked. The group was interrupted by the Storm King stomping his foot on the ground,

“Did you forget that I’m still here?” he asked. Twilight turned to face him a newfound look of confidence on her face, she looked down and helped Tempest back to her hooves. The purple mare turning to face the Storm King as well,

“We didn’t forget, and now that I have my friends with me. I won’t lose!” Twilight shouted. The Storm King laughed though clutching his chest and leaning back a bit,

“Your friends?! You think a few ponies and griffon are going to make that much of a difference? I have the power of three alicorns, and your magic as well! I’m unbeatable!!!” he shouted as turned his staff’s magic on them. Tempest fired a burst of magic from her horn redirecting the Storm King’s attack, Trixie leapt to the front of the group and threw a smoke bomb onto the ground in front of them concealing them. The Storm King looked around searching for them frantically, when suddenly a barrage of pies came flying out of the smoke. The first pie landed smack in the middle of his face, but he quickly held his hands up to block the others. When the smoke cleared he saw Pinkie standing there throwing from a stack of pies behind her laughing all the while. He went to aim his staff at Pinkie but suddenly felt a pair of hooves kick out his knee making his attack miss, he looked to see Applejack smile and run around out of his sight. He tried to attack the Earth pony but then was hit from the side by magic attacks from both Trixie and Tempest. The Storm King lost his balance and went counter but then Gabby grabbed onto the back of his head and began scratching at his head with her claws. The Storm King screamed in pain he tried to grab at Gabby with his empty hand but a chain made of pale green magic quickly bound his wrist for a second.

“Great job Sweetie! Just like that!” Twilight announced as the filly tried to hold her spell. The Storm King tugged at the chain but then Fluttershy suddenly flew in front of him, the timid look of the little pegasi suddenly changing to a menacing STARE which actually caused him to take a step back in fear. Fluttershy quickly flew out the way though as more magic blasts from Tempest and Trixie struck him in the chest cracking and damaging his armor. In a fit of rage he tugged at the chain on his arm one final time and broke it free. As he went to attack again he saw Applejack pick up Spike and throw the little dragon right at him, Spike tore threw the air but the Storm King leaned to the side and avoided him. Twilight and the rest of her friends stood in front of him, defiantly ready for him.

“What?! You think you’ve won?! That I’m beaten? I still have…” he was cut short by a crunching sound. He turned his head to see Spike clinging to the end of his staff biting down on the crystal headpiece. The crystal suddenly cracked and as the Storm King went to reach for him, Spike’s teeth finally broke through shattering the crystal and releasing a massive burst of magic that shattered his staff and sent the Storm King flying away. Spike and landed on his butt and then onto his back before clutching his stomach.

The storm above slowly came to an uneasy silence, the lighting and wind dying down. Twilight and the others quickly rushed to Spike who clutching his stomach and groaning.

“Spike?! Are you okay!?” Sweetie asked. Spike groaned some more, his belly glowing a myriad of colors, he put his hands over his mouth and his cheeks suddenly bulged.

“He’s gonna pop!!!” Pinkie shouted, they all took a big step back as the little dragon opened his mouth letting out a loud and comedic burp. An onslaught of magic erupted out of him and darted off in four different colored streams, three went straight to the castle the fourth going to Twilight and giving her coat's color and cutie mark back. Spike laid on his back still, his green scales now giving off a faint blue glow.

“Ohhh….I’m never eating another magic crystal again…” he groaned. Every pony let out a good laugh at his comment. Tempest stood a short distance away watching them, she looked past them at the Storm King though. He slowly stood up and took out one of the obsidian orbs Tempest had used before. The mare went to shout for Twilight and her friends to look out, but then a burst of yellow magic struck the Storm King shattering his armor, knocking him down, and against the balcony railing. Once he was on the ground a large series of dark blue chains manifested and bound him head to toe, one chain wrapping around his mouth gagging him. Twilight and the others all looked in shock but then turned towards Tempest. Sure enough standing there in the damaged hole in the wall was the the other alicorns. Celestia and Luna in particular looking angry at the would be king, their faces shifted to Twilight and the others though and smiled. Twilight, Spike and Sweetie Belle immediately rushed over and hugged the three happy to see them alright again.

“You’re all okay! I was worried we wouldn’t be able to change you back without the staff for a moment.” Twilight said.

Celestia looked up at Twilight’s friends and said, “Well it seems we certainly missed quite a bit. So how about we start there Twilight?”

Author's Note

:twilightblush: Took a little while to get this chapter done, I've been busy with work. Doesn't help that I also got distracted by my copy of Skyrim breaking with the recent update (thanks Bethesda) so that's distracted me too. But I finally got around to finishing it up, sorry if the battle seems a little short and/or half @$$ed. My thoughts were that the Storm King was a pretty big idiot on his own, and without Tempest in his corner he wouldn't be much of a challenge once Twilight had her friends back. :pinkiehappy: Probably will have one or two more chapter for this arc before moving onto the next one. I definitely plan to get back to the whole Nightmare Rarity thing soon though.

The Storm Passes

Twilight stood smiling at her restored family and started to gush,

“Oh my stars, where do I even begin? First we had to escape Canterlot, then we stumbled into Trixie and Gabby, and then…”

She was quickly interrupted though by Luna’s shouting. “YOU!!!” Twilight looked to see Luna and Celestia were focused on Tempest now their horns glowing. Before they could do anything to rash though Pinkie slid in front of Tempest front hooves in the air.

“WAIT!!!! Tempest isn’t a bad pony anymore! Tell them Twilight!” she shouted. A moment later Applejack, Fluttershy, Trixie, and Gabby all stood in front of Tempest as well waiting for the princesses response. Celestia and Luna looked at Twilight, the small mare quick to answer,

“I know Tempest has done some bad things, REALLY bad things. But she did it because she thought the Storm King could fix her horn. He was just using her the whole time, and once she realized this she willingly helped us defeat him. I’m not saying she should be forgiven or not receive any punishments, but...she’s not a bad pony. I promise.” Twilight pleaded. Celestia and Luna looked back Tempest and the two sisters relaxed.

“Very well, for now we’ll wait to pass judgment. After all, we need to see how much damage has been done in our absence.” Celestia said.

The Canterlot guards and Bat pony soldiers were busy rounding up the Storm King’s forces. Sunset and Shining stood with Lullaby and Nightshade, they were still pretty shocked at the sight of actual bat ponies being in Canterlot.

“I gotta admit, I didn’t think that you were actually real. I mean, I read a few books here and there same as Twilight talking about bat ponies. But I had no idea you actually existed.” Sunset said. Lullaby smiled back putting her front hooves together with glee,

“Well we’ve been hiding in the Garden of Shadows this whole time. We’ve been waiting for so long for the Mare of the Moon to come bring us here to Canterlot. But now, we’re here all on our own! Its so exciting!!!” Lullaby said. Sunset tilted her head a little in confusion by Lullaby’s words,

“Garden of Shadows? Mare of the Moon? Wait, do you mean?…” she asked. Nightshade stood tall in front of Shining, respecting the fellow pony soldier.

“Its nice to meet a fellow soldier, I’ve heard a lot about Canterlot guards and their training. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to meet one though.” Nightshade said.

“Well I’m glad you all came to help, we were in a pretty bad spot here. Its nice to know there are other ponies out there we can count on.” Shining said as he offered to shake Nightshade’s. Before he could shake Shining’s hoof though Lullaby slid over and hugged him tight,

“I can’t believe you came to help! I was totally expecting you all to stay put until this was over!” she shouted.

“Let go of me Lullaby…” he groaned.

“Aww, are you embarrassed? Come on don’t be like that, this is a good thing!” she teased. Nightshade didn’t answer though, instead he seemed distracted suddenly,

“Hey, you’re not ignoring me now are you? Don’t be rude Nightshade!” she said as she poked his cheek. Nightshade quietly put his hoof to her cheek though and made her look towards the castle. Lullaby noticed Twilight and her friends at the top of the stairs and it made her smile, but then she saw standing behind her was the other alicorns including Luna. The bat ponies all stood in awe looking at Luna, a few whispering among themselves.

“Is that her?” “She’s real?” “That’s the mare of the moon”

Were being spoken back and forth between the bat ponies now. Luna slowly smiled at the sight of all of them, Twilight looked back at Luna to see her reaction.

“You found them...you found them all.” Luna said. Twilight smiled and turned to face her aunt,

“Well of course I did. You did tell me and Sweetie Belle to go find them all.” she answered. A few of the Canterlot ponies heard the two mares and started whisper as well,

“Twilight did this?” “It was Twilight who brought help?” “Twilight saved us?”

They spoke to one another. It caught Twilight’s attention when she heard them taking about her now too, before she could say anything though Luna walked to the bottom of the castle stairs. A few of the bat ponies took hesitant steps back, some stood and watched though. Luna bit her lip a little nervous,

“I’m so sorry...I promised you all so long ago I’d come back to bring you here. To make you a part of everything my sister and I built. Then, things happened. Things I couldn’t control and still regret to this day. But it warms my heart to see you all here now, having found your way here and with help from my niece, Twilight no less. Thank you all, truly thank you for your help.” Luna said. The bat ponies seemed to relax at Luna’s words, most of them now smiling. Lullaby watched as Nightshade walked up to Luna, stopping a few steps just in front of her. To everyone’s surprise he knelt down in front of her eyes shut,

“We are your humble servants princess, same as we’ve always been.” he said. Luna looked up to Lullaby and all the other bat ponies approach and just like Nightshade they all bowed in respect before their Mare of the Moon. Twilight smiled at the sight of the bat ponies showing Luna so much respect. Twilight was suddenly hugged by Pinkie squished her cheek to Twilight’s.

“I love happy endings! Now let’s get that happy ending party started already!!!” Pinkie shouted.

Hours later, the Storm King sat in his cage deep within the confines of Tartarus. the prison for the worst of Equestria’s villains, he lied slumped against the side his head hanging low, armor cracked, covered in dirt, and utterly defeated. An all too familiar boom caught his attention though and he looked up to see a portal open before him, Grogar slowly emerging a look of pure rage in his eyes.

“Gr..Grogar! So good to see you, see...I had this whole plan to take care of those ponies and make your plan that much easier, but then see…” the Storm pleaded in a vain attempt but then was cut off as Grogar’s horns glowed and threw the Storm King back against the rear of his cage. He let out a pained groan as he felt Grogar’s magic crushing almost every inch of his body. His damaged armor cracking and crumbling even more.

“I can tolerate your treachery Storm King...but not your...INCOMPENTANCE!!!” he growled. Storm King felt the magic crushing him more and more, his horns bending from the force.

“Treachery requires, no mistakes…” Groger added.

“But...my army...you said… you needed my armies!!!” he pleaded to the ram. With a loud SNAP one of the Storm King’s horns broke free and he dropped to the ground,, he screamed in pain and gripped the broken horn.

“Your armies are broken...even now word has spread of your defeat…” Grogar said. He approached the cage and glared back while belittling the Storm King more,

“When I found you, you were nothing...A pitiful whelp on the street, your people enslaved and ignored by those who you called for help, Canterlot included. Now look at you, back to where you started. Absolutely NOTHING.” The Storm King was afraid now, he wasn’t sure if Grogar was going to kill him or not.

“I have no use for you now...so stay here and rot… I will find those more willing to aid me than you.” Grogar growled as he turned and opened another portal behind him to leave. After the portal shut a faint laughter caught the Storm King’s attention, he lifted his head and looked at the cage across from him. Inside was a shriveled figure covered in tattered cloak.

“So...that was Grogar? I’ve only heard stories of him before.” the figure chuckled. The Storm King sat upright and looked over at the cage and asked,

“Who are you supposed to be?”

The figure chuckled and looked up with a grin, “You can call me...Tirek...”

Author's Note

:yay: Newest chapter all finished. Had the different parts of this chapter planned out ahead, but took so long to figure out HOW to start the chapter. Took the easiest route though and just decided to pick up where the last chapter left off. :pinkiehappy: Next chapter should be a buffer or two, mostly so I can figure out what to do with Tempest not she'll be sticking around. After that I'll get into the next villain arc. Might have a bit of a wait on the next update though due to the holidays coming up and my job getting hectic during that time. But I'll try and get things done ASAP. :twilightsmile:

Bad to Worse

Nightmare looked up the sound of Grogar’s portal booming open as he emerged.

“Well? Where is he?” Nightmare asked. Grogar walked over to the table where seeing stone was at, the image of the orb changing as he began to search anew. Nightmare walked over annoyed at Grogar not answering him,

“Well?! What happened?” he demanded. Grogar’s gaze lifted up just enough to look at Nightmare, but he was still clearly focused on the orb.

“I left him in Tartarus, I have no use for him. At least for now.” Grogar replied. This wasn’t the answer Nightmare wanted though and angrily he slammed his front hooves onto the table,

“That’s it?!? You broke into Tartarus, scolded him like a child and left?” he shouted. Nightmare now had Grogar’s full attention,

“Is that a problem?” Grogar said standing up right and reminding Nightmare of the difference in their size and power. Nightmare took a step back rethinking his outburst just a little.

“You said you would get rid of the House of Sun, you said I would get my revenge on Twilight for costing me my full power. But all you’ve done is sit here and scheme, nothing more! Do you even have a plan?” he asked. Grogar glared back at Nightmare, the ram was not in the mood for insubordination right now.

“And what would you have me do? Canterlot and by extension the House of Sun have become more powerful now than before. Another tribe of ponies is now loyal to them, and they have the lord of chaos at their side. Attacking them would be a fool’s errand. And I am certainly no fool, you wish to do something about this? Fine, leave. But know that you’ll get aid from me if you choose to. And we both know you aren’t strong enough to fight Celestia or Luna, let alone Twilight.” Grogar said. Nightmare grit his teeth and backed away leaving Grogar to refocus on the orb before him. This attitude of Grogar’s didn’t sit well with him though, he wanted his revenge and his power back. Nightmare thought for a moment how he could do this, how or what he could use to get the revenge he so desperately sought.

Then he smiled and whispered, “Hmm, well now...they are both in the same place. I think I’ll do just that…”

Canterlot was in a state of repair, a most of the bat ponies were helping to restore and rebuild the damage done during the invasion. A few of the Storm King’s soldiers ever volunteered to help, although they were under watch by the Canterlot guard. Twilight was walking through the town along side Sunset looking at the repairs and every pony trying to get everything back to normal.

“Sure did a lot of damage in just two days. But at least we have help to fix things this time.” Sunset said.

Twilight nodded in agreement, “Yeah, Lullaby and a few other bat ponies volunteered to even stay in Canterlot for good after all this. Not just to help fix everything, but they want to try and integrate into Canterlot. You know, be a part of all this like the rest of the pony tribes.” Twilight said with a grin.

“Oh yeah, I heard about that from Shining. Princess Luna has, what was his name again? Nightshade? Forming a new night guard consisting of Bat ponies and a few of the current Canterlot guard. She’s practically got her own army now.” Sunset said. The two ponies made their way to Canterlot castle, like Sunset said a few of the Canterlot guards were teaching and showing some bat ponies what to do and where things were at.

“So where’s Tempest at? I know Princess Celestia said she wasn’t going to be too hard on her since she did help in the end.” Sunset asked. Twilight got a bit of a frustrated look on her face,

“She’s at the castle guard post right, she’s kind of on probation at the moment. I’m trying to brainstorm something she can wear that will keep her magic in check and let us track her. That way she can at least walk around Canterlot instead of staying locked in a jail cell in the guard post. I’m just glad they both agreed not to lock her up alongside the Storm King.” she replied. Sunset nodded in agreement with Twilight’s words,

“Hopefully she won’t be under watch for too long.” The two mares walked into the castle and shortly after were greeted by Sweetie Belle, carrying an old spell book and looking for Sunset.

“Sunset! I know we just got done with all the bad stuff and everything, but...can we pick up where we left off with my lessons? I want to learn some more magic!” she asked. Sunset smiled and looked at Twilight before answering Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, sure thing. Let’s go to the library though, we can keep any mishaps under control in there. You wanna come too, Twi?” Twilight shook her head though,

“Thanks, but I promised I’d say goodbye to Pinkie and the others before they headed back to Ponyville today. I’ll catch up with later though. I promise.” she answered. Sunset and Sweetie waved goodbye as Twilight trot off to find her friends.

Twilight made her way to the guest rooms, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were standing outside talking to one another. Fluttershy leaned to the side a bit as she noticed Twilight approach,

“Oh hi Twilight. Did you need anything?” she asked. Twilight shook her head as she walked up,

“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to say goodbye, and see you all off before you head back home. I owe every pony a lot after all. I wouldn’t have gotten half as much done as I did without all of you there to help. Thank you all so much.” she said. Pinkie smiled and hugged Twilight tight pressing her cheek to hers.

“Oh Twilight, you don’t have to thank us. We’re best friends! We’ll always jump at the opportunity to help out, all you have to do is just ask us!” Pinkie said. Twilight smiled and hugged Pinkie back. One of the guest room doors opened as Applejack walked out.

“Well howdy there Twilight, I was hoping we’d get to see y’all again before we left.” she said.

“Me too, I was just telling Pinkie and Fluttershy how much I appreciate everything you helped me with.” Twilight answered. Applejack nodded and walked up beside Fluttershy as Pinkie finally stopped hugging Twilight.

“So where’s Gabby and Trixie at? Figured they would’ve stayed here with all of us.” Applejack asked. Twilight and the others began to walk down the hallway towards the stairs,

“Trixie has her caravan just outside the castle, she preferred to sleep there rather than in the guest rooms. Last I checked Gabby was talking to Trixie and probably bombarding her with questions about her caravan while she was at it.” the purple mare explained. The group talked and made their way through the castle, as they entered the main hall Twilight came to a stop. The air in the castle felt slightly colder to her, it wasn’t a big difference but it was noticeable enough. She looked around wondering what the cause was, Pinkie and the others watched as Twilight began to look around the main hall.

“Everything okay Twilight?” Pinkie asked. Twilight didn’t answer, she wasn’t entirely sure herself. As she continued to look around for anything suspicious she then noticed something, one of the shadows to a pillar was moving slightly. When she approached it a pair of red eyes appeared in the shadow and quickly it darted off and away from her. Twilight gasped in shock recognizing the magic that was involved.

“Oh no! She’s here! Not now of all times!” Twilight said, she quickly turned to her friends and asked them to go and search for her family right away. Twilight couldn’t stress enough the level of danger they were currently in right now. Applejack and the others nodded and rushed off while Twilight followed the shadow in the direction it fled.

Twilight used the glow of her horn’s magic to light the halls as she searched for any trace of magic in the castle. She caught another glimpse of the moving shadow running away again and further down into the castle depths. Twilight didn’t know where it was going but she had to find out and quick she thought. As Twilight went further into the castle she noticed it was cold same as the main hall, an obvious sign of the dark magics being employed right now. Twilight was getting nervous now, a small bead of sweat forming on her brow despite the cold air. She was getting closer to the castle archive and vault, where they kept some of the more dangerous artifacts for safety. As she walked through the halls she noticed the moving shadow again, this time she was ready though and with a quick zap of her horn she dispelled the shadow destroying it before it could flee again. Twilight knew the creature that summoned the shadow had to be nearby and began to look around. As she searched the halls Twilight soon her laughter coming from one of the rooms. Twilight rushed over and kicked the door open and was shocked to see a tall black mare with purple hair, a single silver highlight standing there.

“Why Twilight...darling, so good to see you again.” she said as she slowly turned to face her, his voice perfectly imitating Rarity's. Twilight grit her teeth ready to fight, but then she saw hanging around the mare’s neck was the alicorn amulet. “Nightmare!” Twilight shouted, before she could attack red energy arced off the amulet and Nightmare grew in size to match Celestia’s height, her eyes turning to a shade of red, and lastly a large pair of red bat wings erupting out her back. With a villainous laugh Nightmare spoke up in Rarity’s voice again,

“Now then darling, let’s catch up. We have so much to talk about now...”

Author's Note

Was originally going to make this a nice breather chapter, focus on the bat poines adjusting to life in Canterlot. But then I brainstormed too much about Nightmare Rarity and decided to just go straight ahead and get this arc done now. :raritywink: So yeah, new Nightmare Rarity arc begins! :yay: Hope you all enjoy it. Next update or two may be a little longer than usual, holidays coming up and my job is gonna be crazy. But I'll try and make time when I can. :rainbowkiss:

Rule of Nightmare

The red magics of the alicorn amulet flowed out into and Nightmare’s horn, Twilight quickly turned and ran as he fired a massive blast of magic at her. Twilight barely managed to dodge as the blast collided with the wall and obliterating it. Nightmare mockingly spoke to Twilight in Rarity’s voice more,

“Twilight darling, don’t go so soon. This is our big reunion darling…” he said. Twilight remembered how powerful Blueblood was using this artifact in the hooves of someone as powerful as Nightmare it was another story entirely. She needed to get help and fast, she wasn’t going to win all on her own. Getting back on her hooves Twilight sprinted as fast she could down the hallway back towards the main hall of the castle, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Nightmare slowly walking after her. Red magics arced of his body, a sinister grin on his face as he watched Twilight flee. The energy from poured out again going down Nightmare’s front legs, he stood on his hind hooves for a moment before slamming his front hooves down onto the floor. The energies from his went into the carpet and soon his shadowy wolf minions rose up. They were different this time, bigger, a sinister red aura and matching eyes. When they saw Twilight the snarled and growled, Twilight counted at least six of them as she ran,

“Get her…” Nightmare said. The wolves sprinted down the hall after Twilight leaving red glowing paw prints on the floor. This was so much different than the last time she’d fought Nightmare she thought, the Alicorn amulet had made him so much stronger now. Twilight looked back and saw the wolves gaining on her without much effort, the one closest opened its mouth to bare its teeth and lunged forward to grab her tail. Thinking quick Twilight cast a teleportation spell and vanished just as the wolf’s jaw snapped shut.

In a flash of purple magic Twilight appeared in the main hall of the castle, she looked up to see Shining and Cadence looking at her puzzled.

“Hey Twilight, is everything okay? You look exhausted.” Cadence asked. Before Twilight could give an answer the staircase behind her exploded in a pillar of dark magics, the force of the blast sending Twilight tumbling forward. Shining was quick to catch his sister and help her up, but then he looked up to see Nightmare slowly rise from the hole left behind by the blast.

“Rarity?!? No, Nightmare!” Cadence shouted, Nightmare grinned back his wolves climbing out of the wreckage of the main hall.

“Well now, that’s three of the ponies I was looking for. But I’m not satisfied with just you…” Nightmare said. Dark magic poured out of the Alicorn amulet again the floor turning black like shadow, slowly rising out of the shadow were more shadow creatures like nightmares wolves. This time though there were more animals, bears, panthers, and snakes all eager to obey their masters command. Twilight and the other were surrounded now, no way out of the main hall without using magic.

“Oh but this is only the start, I’m going to have my revenge, and I’ll take all of Canterlot for my own!” Nightmare shouted as he unleashed an outburst of black and red magic upwards crashing through the castle until it hit skies far above turning the sky black and enveloping all of Canterlot in Nightmare’s magic.

Every creature in Canterlot looked skyward and the blue sky turned pitch black, a dome of dark magic trapping every one within the city. Pinkie walked up to Applejack, who had Fluttershy clinging to her in fear.

“What the heck is going on?” Pinkie asked,

“Ah don’t know...but I reckon this is what Twilight was tryin to warn us about.” Applejack replied. The screams of nearby ponies caught their attention as they turned to see Nightmare’s minions slowly emerge from the shadows and begin to attack. The streets quickly exploded into chaos, ponies panicking and running in fear.

“What do we do? What do we do?!?” Pinkie shouted, Applejack propped Fluttershy on her hooves and waved to her friends.

“Come on y’all, we gotta find the rest of Twilight’s family like she told us to!” Applejack shouted. Pinkie and Fluttershy followed close as Applejack rushed through the streets, ponies everywhere were taking shelter and barricading themselves indoors. As they ran towards the castle a familiar voice caught their attention, Lullaby running from one of the bear shadow monsters. Applejack slid and changed direction towards Lullaby. Just as the bear went to reach for her the earth pony threw out her lasso wrapping it around the bears neck and stopping it in its tracks. The beast tried to go after Lullaby still but then Applejack grit her teeth puled with all her strength throwing it over her and slamming it down hard into the ground behind Pinkie. When it crashed into the ground it exploded into a cloud of black smoke disappearing from sight. After Applejack let out a sigh of relief she suddenly felt Lullaby slam into her for a hug almost knocking the pony over.

“THANK YOU APPLEJACK!!! I was so scared, I don’t even know what’s happening right now!” she sobbed. “There, there, sugar cube. We’re still tryin to figure out what’s happening ourselves.” Applejack answered. Lullaby stood upright and looked around,

“We should look for Twilight! Or Princess Luna! They’ll know what to do, right?” Lullaby asked. Applejack nodded in agreement and they rushed to the castle again. A few of Nightmare’s minions tried to stop them as they rushed to the castle, the ponies wouldn’t be slowed though as Applejack and Lullaby bucked their way through the opposition.

As they reached the front gates of the castle they found Spike and Sweetie Belle running in a panic, Trixie and Sunset following behind while trying to fend off more of Nightmare’s minions.

“Some pony help!!!” Sweetie screamed. Lullaby flew past Sweetie Belle and Spike tackling the shadow wolf and dispelling it.

“Sunset! Trixie! Over here!” Pinkie called out, Trixie and Sunset were trying to get away but the shadow minions continued to bear down on them,

“Every pony get back, their trying to keep every pony out of the castle!” Sunset shouted back. The brief moment of distraction was all one the shadow snakes needed though and in a flash it moved to Sunset coiling around her and constricting her. Sunset let out a muffled groan as it held her tight, Trixie fired a blast of her magic at the creature but it wasn’t enough to despell it. Applejack, Lullaby and Pinkie tried to rush to their friends rescue but as they got close the snake sunk into the ground and disappeared from sight.

“Sunset!” they all called out.

Nightmare stood in the main hall atop the ruined staircase, below him were a small army of his minions guarding his newest captors. Twilight, Shining, and Cadence all bound and tied to he floor by black chains. Shadows swirled next to Twilight as Sunset emerged from the darkness, she gasped for air but before she could react black chains emerged from the ground and restrained her same as the others. Nightmare grinned at the sight of Sunset and spoke up,

“That’s a good start, but were still shy two princesses and a dragon...tear this city apart, bring them to me wherever they are. My reign won’t be challenged this time.”

Author's Note

:yay: New update is here, sorry it took so long. December was a rough month for me. I tried to stretch this one out. But had some fierce writers block going on while brainstorming. But I did manage to get a good start on the next Nightmare Rarity arc. Meanwhile have fun and enjoy the newest update. I'll try and focus more on the next update, but I've got a lot of games I've been playing (Them's Fightin Herds I recommend for anyone who loves MLP). Leave a comment and a like and let me know what you think! :pinkiehappy:

Claiming the Sun

Nightmare stood looking down at his captives, Twilight and the others struggling to get free. The chains held them tightly and despite their efforts it seemed to bind their magics as well. Sunset glared back at Nightmare angry to see him inhabiting their friends body still.

“So what now? Just going to keep us locked up like this?” Sunset shouted. Nightmare grinned at the unicorns words,

“Oh no, I want you all to be present when I decide to set my minions beyond Canterlot’s borders. And then, I’ll imprison all of you for eternity, turned to stone to watch and listen as I claim everything there is in all of Equestria.” he said. His horn glowed with the amulets magic, the rubble of the destroyed staircase behind Nightmare changing and taking form of a throne looking down on everything in the room. With a single flap of his wings Nightmare rose into the air and sat gently down on the new throne.

“But the guest list isn’t finished just yet, we still have others that need to gather first.” Nightmare continued to speak. A distant boom shook the castle, Nightmare looking over his shoulder. “Well, I believe that must be Celestia, or mayhaps Luna? No worries, they’ll be here soon enough.” he saId.

Nightmare’s minions swarmed from the shadows on all sides, Celestia trying to gain altitude to escape. But once airborne she found minions in the form of angry raptors awaiting her in the sky. Celestia unleashed magic blast after magic blast trying to destroy the shadowy birds, but every time she destroyed one another would take its place shortly after. Celestia flew for one of the castle towers in the distance trying to get away, hoping to regroup and come up with a better plan. As she flew she glanced down at the courtyard entrance, there she saw Sweetie Belle and the others fleeing from more of the shadow creatures. Celestia changed direction trying to reach her and help only to be intercepted by another shadow creature, a massive bat. Its clawed feet gripped Celestia’s back and neck easily taking control of her direction and with a single swing of its legs threw Celestia back towards the castle. She gathered her magic and created a barrier shielding her landing as she smashed through a window and onto the second floor of the castle. Celestia was dazed from the impact but maintained her shield. When she looked up she saw more of the shadow creatures emerging from the darkness around her and quickly swarming her shield. Wolves, snakes, and panthers made of darkness piled onto her barrier beating away at it and trying to break her defenses. Celestia broke into a full sweat, there were so many of them and they were too strong she thought. It was taking her full concentration just to repair the damage as it was being made. The thumping of large feet caught her attention next as she looked up to see a pair of shadowy bears closing in. Celestia tried to reinforce her barrier but then the bears began to slam their claws into the barrier, causing it to crack. Celestia tried to repair the damage and reinforce her barrier but the more she tried the harder the shadow monsters attacked. After multiple heavy hits the bears finally broke through Celestia’s barrier and the creatures swarmed over her, she fired magic blasts trying to destroy them but there were too many. The bears charged in and just as they were about to overwhelm her she gathered as much magic as she could and released it in one massive burst of magic sunlight the sheer force of which destroyed the entire room she was standing in.

Celestia collapsed exhausted from the attack and tried to catch her breath but she knew there was no time now. Sweetie Belle needed her help now! She spread her wings and prepped herself to take flight again when she felt a sharp pain on the side of her neck, a large shadow snake having snuck up on her and sinking its fangs into her. Celestia screamed in pain and tried run away, but the snake quickly moved its large muscular body close and coiled around her. Binding her legs and wings and holding her still as its jaw clamped down. The white alicorn tried to summon her magic to fight back, but something was wrong now. Her magic felt off, difficult to focus all of a sudden. The snake must have had some sort of venom she thought, and try as she might to get free her strength was fading fast. The snakes coils tightening around her and squeezing her body, Celestia was having trouble breathing now let alone moving. After a minute the snake felt her strength finally fading, she was at both it and its master’s mercy now. The shadows beneath her swirled and soon Celestia sank into the darkness and was brought before Nightmare and his other captives.

Sweetie Belle was with Applejack and the others fighting off the shadow creatures near the courtyard, they tried to get closer to the castle but the enemies numbers were too many.

“We can’t stay here, there’s too many of them and not enough of us! We gotta go!” Trixie shouted, Sweetie looked back hearing the unicorns words. She didn’t want to abandon her friends, she had to help them somehow. As the others retreated Sweetie instead ran towards the castle gates. Fluttershy looked back and called out to the filly causing the others to stop and look back.

“Sweetie Belle! Y’all get back here this instant!!!” Applejack shouted. Sweetie ran as fast as she could but was cut off by two of the panthers, the filly slid to a stop as they snarled and growled at her. One raised its claws high to swipe at her, Sweetie Belle covered her head and shut her eyes expecting the worse. Then a burst of magic rained down destroying the shadow creatures in front of her. When she looked up she saw Luna land in front of her, without wasting a word she scooped up Sweetie Belle onto her back.

“Every pony fall back! Get as far from the castle as you can!” Luna shouted. Applejack and the others didn’t waste a second instead turning to flee. As the other shadow creatures closed in on Luna the mare’s horn glowed and she quickly teleported away from the castle. Sweetie Belle looked around and saw they had moved to the center of the city, a safe distance from the castle. The filly hopped off Luna’s back and began to rush back to the castle but was soon lifted up by Luna’s magic and brought back to the older mare.

“Sweetie Belle, no! We can’t go back there.” Luna said.

Sweetie turned to Luna and objected immediately, “But what about Sunset? Or Twilight? Or any of the others?!? They could be in danger back there!” Luna could see the filly was upset and walked up to her and hugged her tight gently petting the back of her head.

“I know Sweetie Belle, I know. I want to rescue them as badly as you do. But right now we can’t make rash actions. I don’t know what the cause of this is, but I have an idea. And if we want to save every pony we’ll have to work together and get as much help as we can.” Luna said. She could hear Sweetie Belle trying not to cry and in response she held her tighter.

“Princess Luna!” a voice called out, Luna looked up to see Lullaby, Applejack, and the others rushing up to her.

“Are you okay? How’s Sweetie doing?” Lullaby asked. Luna smiled happy to see Twilight’s friends were safe, she set Sweetie Belle down and wiped the tears from her face with her wing tip before turning to the others and saying.

“She will be fine, she’s a brave filly and she’s been with us through this sort of thing before. But right now we need to regroup, find as many ponies as we can who aren’t captured and form a plan. We’re dealing with a powerful foe, and I will need all of Canterlot’s help it were to save the city and my family.”

Author's Note

:facehoof: Phew, this month really snuck up on me. Meant to get this update done sooner but before I knew it, it was the 23rd already! All things aside I did manage to piece together a decent Celestia chapter I think. :trollestia: I'll try and get more done in the next week or so but like usual that'll come down to my job and how busy I'll be. But I promise more updates are coming in the future. Until then leave my some comments about what you all think of the new update! :yay:

Pinkie's Reinforcements

Nightmare’s forces rushed through the now abandoned streets of Canterlot, those who hadn’t been captured now hiding in their homes and other buildings. Sweetie Belle cautiously looked out the window just enough to see, a group of the shadow wolves passing by at the end of the street. She quickly returned to the back of the building where Luna and the others were all waiting.

“I can’t believe this is happening, we just got Canterlot and every pony back after the Storm King attacked.” Sweetie Belle said as she sat next to Luna.

“What can we do now? Is there any pony who can actually help us right now?” Fluttershy asked. The group looked around at one another waiting for someone to speak up with any ideas.

“I could go get the rest of the children of the night from back home, but that’ll take me a while to fly there and back. Maybe longer if I don’t want to be seen.” Lullaby added.

“There’s gotta be some pony left in the city who isn’t captured, we just need to find them and get them to help us out! This is their city as much as it is ours, right?” Trixie added. Luna sat thinking, caution was the utmost importance right now. They needed to seek others, but she had to remain out of sight her presence would alert Nightmare’s forces sooner than any of the others.

“If only I knew who my sisters allies were outside of Equestria, I would eagerly call on them for help.” Luna said. Pinkie suddenly perked at Luna’s words though,

“Oh, I know some pony we can get to help us out! But I’ll have to be sneaky to go and get her though…” the pink one said. Every pony looked at Pinkie wondering who she could be talking about, but before any pony could ask Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy and Applejack pulling them in close for a hug.

“We’ll be right back! And we’ll bring some of the best help ever!” Pinkie said.

“Wait, where are we going? And who are y'all talkin about Pinkie?” Applejack asked as she and Fluttershy walked out the back of the building. Luna and Sweetie sat with Lullaby and Trixie curious as to what they had planned now.

“So what should we do now?” Lullaby asked. Luna stood up and looked at the others,

“We need to find another place to hide, staying here for too long could be dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before we’re discovered here.” Luna said. The others ponies nodded in agreement and followed Luna as she approached the front of the building cautiously looking around before making a move.

The group moved through the streets staying out of sight as much as they could, Nightmare had minions in the air now and it gave them an ideal view of the streets below. Luna quickly ushered the others into another building, a now empty book store. Once inside Luna stayed close to the front door looking and waiting for any of Nightmare’s forces to pass by.

“Well at least we have some books to read now.” Lullaby joked, her comment making Trixie and Sweetie Belle smirk at her. A sudden thud from the back of the building caught their attention though, Luna quickly moving to her friends and keeping them behind her. They slowly walked up to the door, the sounds of movement now more apparent on the other side. Luna’s horn began to glow preparing to face whatever monsters Nightmare had waiting on the other side. Her magic glowed around the doorknob and turned it swinging it open. Inside was a collection of boxes and books and sitting in the center of the room scared was Spike and Gabby who both let out panicked shrieks at the door opening. A moment later they realized who one another was though and instantly the fear was replaced with a sense of levity.

“Sweetie Belle! Aunt Luna!” Spike announced rushing up and hugging the two, Gabby then immediately hugging them as well for no reason better than to be a part of the hug.

“Spike, I’m happy to see your alright. But, how did you end up in there?” Luna asked.

“I was taking Gabby here to come see the book store, she wanted to get a few comics to take back with her to Griffonstone. Before we knew it the whole city went nuts! Those monsters were everywhere and just grabbing ponies up left and right.” Spike explained.

“We hid in the storage room when they started to break in the front doors, not sure how long we’ve been in there for. Next thing we know is you showed up like this.” Gabby added. Spike looked around seeing only Lullaby and Trixie with them,

“Where’s Twilight? Or Shining?” he asked. Luna and Sweetie both got quiet at Spike’s question though,

“We’re not sure, but we think its likely that Nightmare is holding them captive somewhere in the castle. We’re trying to find as much help as we can right now, we need as many ponies as we can find to help fight back.” Luna said. Spike looked at Luna shocked by her explanation, Gabby a little puzzled though.

“Who’s Nightmare? Are they really that bad?” she asked.

“Yeah! Real bad! Last time we fought him he possessed Sweetie Belle’s sister, Rarity. Then he jumped to Twilight and tried to take over Canterlot! We thought we’d seen the last of him but then he took control of Rarity again and disappeared. But...now he’s back again.” Spike said. A hush fell over the group, but then Lullaby stepped up to them with her usual optimistic grin.

“But its not all bad, if he’s here that means you have a chance to save your friend now, right? You can totally do it, you stopped the Storm King together. We can totally do this too!” Lullaby said. The bat pony's confidence put a smile on every pony’s face, Luna standing upright a little more a look of pride on her face.

“We most certainly shall, I’ll see to it that we stop this creature once and for all this time.” Luna said. The sound of Nightmare’s forces moving outside caught their attention, making them take cover and hide. After Luna was certain they’d remained undetected, she stood up and looked out the front windows of the building.

“Come every pony, we need to keep moving and find more help. Stay close to me.” Luna said before they followed her out the rear exit to search for more help.

Pinkie moved quietly through the city, quieter than usual for the pink pony. Applejack and Fluttershy stayed close, but it was still difficult given the chaotic movements of the pink pony. When Applejack finally got close enough to talk to her she asked,

“Pinkie, where are ya takin us? The castle is back that way!” Pinkie put her hoof around Applejack and pulled her close,

“We’re not getting help from the castle, we’re getting help from over there!” she said. Applejack and Fluttershy looked to the northern guard barracks just ahead of them. The barracks was vacant, the guards having left to try and defend the castle and the ponies in the city.

“The barracks? But, there’s no one in there Pinkie. Are you sure we’ll find someone?” Fluttershy asked. Pinkie nodded enthusiastically and lead them closer, the pink pony occasionally stopping and locking up as one of Nightmare’s minions came close. The pink one’s “Pinkie sense” being the perfect warning against capture. When they got into the barracks Pinkie led them away from where the soldiers were usually bunked, Applejack and Fluttershy were confused where they going now. Pinkie wasn’t looking for Canterlot guards, so who then? When they reached the door leading to the Prison cells in the barracks, Applejack and Fluttershy both froze Pinkie opening the door and about to walk inside.

“Wait a minute Pinkie, this is where they keep the prisoners! You know, the creatures who get locked for being too rowdy?” Applejack said. Fluttershy shuffled behind the earth pony nervous about what was waiting on the other side of the door. Pinkie looked back at Applejack and smiled,

“Of course silly, this is where the help I was talking about it is.” Pinkie said. Nervously the two ponies followed Pinkie inside the prison, Pinkie showing no fear whatsoever. As they walked down the hall the prison cells on both sides contained the yeti that were captured after the Storm King’s defeat. The massive white apes watching as the three ponies walked down the hall, when Applejack looked back at Pinkie she saw her opening a single cell.

“WAIT!!! Pinkie, don’t!” Applejack shouted. But Pinkie slid the door open and stepped back with a smile, Applejack and Fluttershy stepped back expecting the worse. Then stepping out of the cell was a very familiar pony with a red mane and broken horn. A moment later a small yeti stepping out alongside her,

“Wait, Tempest?” Fluttershy asked. Pinkie immediately hugged the tall mare with a smile.

“Is this a prison break? I appreciate the effort but I don’t want to make things worse for me right me now Pinkie.” Tempest said.

“Its not a prison break, and right now we could really use your help.” Pinkie said as she reached over and took the ring suppressing Tempest’s magic off her horn.

“Help? With what? Is that why they set off all the alarms a while ago?” Tempest asked. Applejack and Fluttershy walked over and both gave Tempest a quick hoof bump to their friend.

“Some pony has attacked Canterlot, he’s grabbed Twilight and most of her family already. We only know that Princess Luna is safe right now, and we need all the help we can get. I don’t suppose ya mind helping us?” Applejack explained. Tempest smiled and nodded in agreement, she went to take a few steps away but the Pinkie squeed with delight,

“That’s your cutie mark?!? Its so cute Tempest!!!” Pinkie shouted. Fluttershy and Applejack both paused too, looking at Tempest and seeing the milkshake cutie on Tempest’s flank. Seeing every pony look at her cutie mark made Tempest blush a little.

“I used to make sundae’s and other desserts as a filly… I started to cover it up after I joined the Storm King’s army though.” Tempest explained, the pony quickly composed herself though and looked at the captured yeti all around them and announced.

“Alright then, the Storm King is gone, Canterlot is in danger and now needs allies more than ever. So I’m offering every creature in here a chance to follow ME into battle to save the city and royal family. So who’s coming with me?”

Author's Note

:ajsleepy: Took too long to get this new update done. Been trying to prep for Megacon next week and my job's been giving me too many early shifts. But I finally managed to find the time to get this done. :yay: Felt like a buffer chapter of sorts, but that also lets me set things up for when things shake up again. So hopefully I can make time for the next update after next week when I get back. I promise to deliver more of everyone's favorite Edge Pony when I do. :raritywink:

No time to regroup

Pinkie and the others walked out of the guard barracks, Tempest taking the lead with Grubber staying close behind her. A small legion of yeti following behind the ponies.

“Now we just need to go find Luna and the others. I’ll bet their somewhere close by.” Pinkie said as she hopped up alongside Tempest. The group came to a stop when the sound of Pinkie talking caught the attention of Nightmare’s minions. The shadow wolves and other creatures slowly coming into view at the end of the street. Tempest stood her ground though glaring back at the creatures before her. Without a word the wolves charged, Tempest took a step forward her horn glowing with unstable magic and then blasted a path down the street her magic dispelling a few of the wolves. The other creatures continued to charge though,

“Attack!!” Tempest shouted, the yeti behind them leaping forward and beginning to battle Nightmare’s minions. The other ponies watched as Tempest and the yeti fought in the street after a few minutes they managed overpower their opponents leaving them alone in the streets.

“Oh my…” Fluttershy muttered. Applejack let out a triumphant cheer before walking up to Tempest.

”Now that was somethin else Tempest. Pinkie was right about coming to y'all for help. With you and your friends helping Princess Luna we should be able to save every pony in no time!” Appleajack said. Tempest smiled and nodded at the mare. Pinkie then sliding up beside them,

“Now come on! Let’s go find a princess!!” she announced.

Luna sat next to Sweetie Belle the little filly having somehow fallen asleep during everything that was happening. Spike and Gabby kept an eye out for any danger while Lullaby and Trixie were searching for anything useful in the building they were hiding inside. Spike looked back at Luna,

“Its been a while now, you don’t think Pinkie and the others were captured do you?” he asked. Luna looked up at Spike trying not to move around and wake Sweetie.

“I don’t know, Nightmare’s forces are all over the city. Its possible, but I can't say for certain.” she answered. Lullaby and Trixie came back the two ponies carrying a few snacks they’d found.

“We found some food, mostly candy bars and sweets. But at least its something that we can eat.” Lullaby said with a smile. Spike and Gabby walked over as the bat pony handed out the snacks to everyone, making sure they all got an equal amount to eat. Trixie unwrapped the chocolate bar she’d had and took a bite, sitting quietly and eating for a moment. Then she looked back to Luna.

“We should go look for others now, there could be guards in the city or other ponies who could help us. And we’re less likely to draw attention if we get caught. You said that Nightmare was looking for you right?” Trixie asked. Luna nodded, she knew full well that Nightmare’s main goal had to be revenge against her family. After all, they were the ones who stopped him last time. Luna wondered where he could’ve been hiding up until now for a moment. His power was limited after his defeat and staying as well hidden as he was couldn’t have been something he’d accomplished alone. But she knew focusing on that should come later, right now they needed to focus on getting help.

“Alright, you two go and search for any pony who hasn’t been captured yet. Try and stay out of sight and keep close to the buildings, you’ll be less likely to be seen that way.” Luna explained. The two mares nodded and stood up ready to go but then the scuttling of feet above them caught their attention. Every creature in the room came to a stop, looking up and tensing up at what was moving around above them. An uneasy minute passed before everything went silent again, the ponies taking a deep sigh of relief. Trixie smiled looking around at every pony and said,

“Well for a second there I thought we were in real…” Before she could finish her sentence though the ceiling exploded shadow creatures pouring into the building, Luna quickly scooped up Sweetie Belle waking the filly and tossing her to Gabby.

“Go! Keep her safe, they’re after me!” she shouted. Luna raised a barrier to keep back the monsters as the others fled. Sweetie was shocked and confused about what was happening watching as they fled out the front of the building watching Luna stay behind.

“Wait?!? Princess Luna! Come with us!!” Sweetie shouted.

The shadow creatures slammed into Luna’s barrier, clawing and beating against it to try and capture the alicorn. But Luna stood strong, looking back to watch and make sure the others were far enough away before she went on the offensive. Sweetie and the others rushed down the street vanishing from Luna’s sight, she turned to face her attackers and then refocused her barrier into a single attack spell blasting them back into the dark ether they came from. The resulting blast shook the building and destroyed a good portion of it as well, giving Luna’s position away to more of the creatures around her. They came at Luna from all directions this time but the mare spread her wings wide and took to the air fighting her way through all the monsters that were airborne. Bursts of magic lit the sky attacking the creatures as they charged towards her, she had to be cautious with her attacks though she had no idea how many ponies were still in the buildings below. One wrong attack and she might hurt someone she sought to protect. The shadow bats swarmed at Luna but she nimbly flew between and around dodging their attempts to swarm her. She had to put some distance between them she thought, she needed to hide again and regroup with her friends. As Luna flew she noticed less and less of the creatures pursuing her, she looked back to see they had stopped for some reason then a voice spoke to her.

“Hello Luna, its been so long. And I’m glad you decided to make your presence so openly known.” Luna stopped and looked ahead to see Nightmare floating in front of her. Her eyes glowing a menacing red that matched the large wings keeping her aloft. Luna showed no fear though smiling back at Nightmare,

“You’ve done me the favor, now I can stop you here and now, freeing Twilight’s friend from your grasp.” she replied. Without another word Luna unleashed a barrage of magic blasts at her opponent, Nightmare easily blocking the attack with a barrier spell. Luna’s attack obscured his vision for a moment but when he could see again Luna was gone. Nightmare looked around trying to see where she’d gone when suddenly Luna struck from above her focused attack blitzing through her barrier and slamming into Nightmare. Luna followed up with another magic attack blasting her opponent towards the ground. With a beat of her wings though Nightmare recovered and turned to face Luna. In a flash of magic Luna teleported out of view again,

“Think you can keep this up forever? You’re forgetting who your fighting!” Nightmare shouted back.

“I don’t have to keep this up forever, you think I didn’t prepare for your return? I spent weeks studying the magics I needed to stop you this time.” Luna snapped back. Nightmare turned towards the direction of her voice and saw Luna casting a large spell, a magic circle appearing in front of her and under Nightmare. Before she could react the magic circle beneath Nightmare became bright with Luna’s magic and soon beams of light erupted out and wrapped around her restraining her. The magic tightened like ropes and soon began to pull downwards, Nightmare could feel the force of the magics pulling at his being trying to separate him from his host. Luna continued to focus the spell, she could see the black of Rarity’s coat slowly being pulled towards the circle her natural white becoming visible. Just a little more time and Rarity would be free Luna thought, but she could feel Nightmare fighting back trying to maintain hold over the unicorn. Then in a defiant scream Nightmare unleashed the alicorn amulets powers, red energy pouring out in all directions. Luna tried to focus on the spell and keep it going, but the amulets magics were chaotic and going in every direction now. Nightmare’s magics finally struck the circle beneath her and in a burst of magic destroyed the circle knocking Luna away. Luna was quick to recover though looking back at Nightmare,

“He’s more powerful than I originally thought, the alicorn amulet must have amplified his power even more than I expected.” she thought. Nightmare's dark magics poured out of her, black and red tendrils launching towards her opponent. Luna tried to move away, but the attack was too quick and too sudden. Before she could react the tendrils attacked from behind and in front of her engulfing Luna in every direction. Nightmare let out a villainous roar and threw the mass of dark magic towards the city below. Luna had no way to defend and was slammed through a building decimating it entirely and shaking Canterlot. When the dust settled Luna was left at the center of the ruined of structure, her head spinning and body aching all over. With a loud thump she looked up to see Nightmare standing before her.

“Let’s get you back to the castle princess, your family is eagerly waiting for you after all.” Nightmare said with a grin.

Lullaby and the others had finally stopped running to catch their breath, Sweetie Belle in a bit of a panic walking in circles.

“What happened?!? Why did we leave Princess Luna behind?” she frantically asked. Lullaby tried to calm her down, petting her on the head and getting her to stop moving around for a moment.

“It all happened so suddenly, we didn’t have time to help. She wanted to keep us all safe.” she replied. Sweetie Belle was visibly upset, and Spike stood upright trying be confident.

“Then I say its time we go to the castle and get every pony back! We’ve run and hid long enough. If its just the five of us we should be able to sneak in, right?” Spike said. Trixie and Lullaby looked at one another unsure, but Gabby eagerly agreed with Spike, Sweetie perking up at the dragon’s newfound confidence.

“Yeah, we can totally do this!” Gabby said. Sweetie Belle then walked up to the two and turned to the older mares with them.

“You’ll help us too, right?” Sweetie asked. Lullaby stood and smiled her grin saying it all, Trixie took a moment brush her mane aside before speaking up.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will happily help rescue her friends.” The group then turned towards the castle and began to make their way there determined to save the House of Sun.

Author's Note

:ajsleepy: This took a lot longer to get done than I thought it would. Motivation at a low point and I had some reoccurring writer's block. But I finally managed to buckle down long enough to get done. :yay: It might be a little rushed here and there and if so, I apologize. Again, I had trouble writing this chapter. Hopefully when it comes time to start on the next update I'll have a little more enthusiasm for it. :twilightsmile: Anyway, hope you enjoy the newest update.

The Beginning

It was just another peaceful night at the Sparkle house, Cadence had been asked to watch Twilight for the weekend while her parents were away. Spike slept in Cadence’s hooves as she rocked him back in forth, Shining sat next to Cadence inching closer to her while trying to not to be noticed, Twilight lie on the floor in front of the two talking about the book she was reading. A knock suddenly came from the front door, Cadence was surprised wondering who it could be so late at night. Velvet and Nightlight weren’t supposed to be back until the morning she thought. She handed Spike to Shining and walked across the living room to the front door, she opened the door to find Celestia standing in the doorway. “Oh! Auntie, so nice to see you. Why are you here this late?” She asked,

Celestia smiled at Cadence but it was obvious something was on her mind. “Hello Cadence, may I come in?” she asked. Cadence nodded and stepped aside to let her enter, the smile on Celestia’s face slowly fading as she approached Twilight and Shining. She sat down in front of the two of them, tears slowly forming in her eyes as she said, “Twilight, Shining….I’m so sorry”

A week had passed since Celestia had told Twilight and Shining about their parents, three days since the funeral. Twilight, Shining, and Spike had no other close relatives outside their parents and so Celestia had decided to adopt the three. Twilight had been a student at her school for more than a year now and she was already close friends with their parents. Celestia also felt it would be good for Cadence as well, as now she could spend more time with them as they lived in Canterlot castle. Still Celestia knew deep down that this would be a big adjustment for Twilight and Shining.

The door to the bedroom slowly opened the magic glow around the doorknob fading as Celestia guided Twilight inside. “And here is your room Twilight, I had them bring all your things over just this morning.” she said with a smile. Twilight walked into the room nervously clutching her stuffed animal, she looked around to see all her toys, books, and her bed were all here. She looked back at Celestia and asked,

“Where’s Spike’s stuff? We used to share a room.” Celestia gave a warm smile,

“I had them put Spike and his things in my room, he’s still a baby after all and he’ll need lots of attention.” Twilight smiled and walked into her new room sitting down on the rug in the center of the room, she hugged her stuffed animal again and looked back at Celestia.

“Your brother’s room is right next to yours, and I made sure to have them put your room directly across from Cadence’s. You remember where my room is at in case you ever need anything right Twilight?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded a small smile on her face.

“All right, sleep tight Twilight remember you have school in the...” Celestia turned to leave when she felt a small tug on the tip of her tail, she looked back to see a small pink glow around the end of her tail. Twilight’s horn glow with her magic, the smile on her face gone now.

“Can...can you stay a little longer princess?” she asked, Celestia smiled and walked back into the room lying down in front of Twilight.

“Of course, Twilight.” She smiled back at Celestia, then walked up and snuggled up to her in between her front legs. “So? What do you want to do before bed?” Celestia asked, though she already had an idea of what Twilight would say.

“I...I always like to read one of my books before I go to sleep.” she replied. Celestia giggled knowing Twilight answered exactly like she knew she would. They both looked at the bookshelf and Celestia asked,

“So which one should we read then?” Twilight looked at the bookshelf putting her hoof to her chin as she thought, after a moment she excitedly pointed out the book she wanted. Celestia’s horn lit with her magic as a yellow glow picked the book up from the shelf and brought it over to the two of them. She held the book up in front of Twilight so they could both read, .

“You know, I used to read this when I was a foal too.” Celestia said,

Twilight looked back at her a smile on her face and exclaimed,

“Really? Its one of my favorites!” The two laid on the floor for an hour or two reading the book together before Twilight eventually fell asleep. Celestia placed her book back where she had gotten it and gently lifted Twilight into her bed with magic being careful not to wake her. Celestia tucked her into bed and put Twilight’s hoof around her stuffed animal, she stood for a moment watching Twilight sleep peacefully.

For a moment she thought about how much this reminded her of taking care of her sister, as she would always have to tuck her into the blankets every night. A small trace of worry crossed Celestia’s mind as she looked at the moon shining dimly through the window, she knew the summer solstice would be a couple years away and she never expected to be in her current situation when it came. Looking back at Twilight sleeping she smiled and decided that she needed to focus on Twilight and her brothers. They needed her far more right now. Celestia turned off the light to the room and gently closed the door behind her,

“Good night, Twilight. I hope all your dreams are sweet tonight.”

The next morning Twilight woke to a gentle nudging, she rolled over to see Cadence standing beside her bed a bright smile on her face.

“Morning Twilight, its time for breakfast. Auntie made pancakes again!” she said excitedly. Twilight slowly sat up rubbing the sleep from her eyes,

“Princess Celestia makes pancakes?” she asked.

Cadence nodded, “All the time, now come on sleepy head, otherwise Spike and Shining are gonna eat them all!” she said as she rushed to the hallway.

“What!?” Twilight exclaimed, she leaped out of bed and chased after Cadence,

“They better not eat mine!” Cadence and Twilight rushed through the castle halls eventually making their way to the dining room. A long dinner table draped in a white tablecloth sat in the middle of the room, a large décor of fruit spread across the center of the table. Shining sat at the end of the table, Spike in a baby chair across from him. Celestia stood next to a small serving cart, five plates of pancakes placed on top. Twilight and Cadence quickly took their seats, Twilight sitting next to Cadence.

“Morning Auntie!”

“Morning Princess!” the two exclaimed. Celestia smiled as she lifted the plates from the carts placing one in front of each pony at the table. Twilight smiled with excitement as she looked at her plate, a small stack of three pancakes decorated with berries to resemble a silly face on top.

“It looks so good!” she shouted as she grabbed her fork and anxiously began to eat. Twilight smiled as she ate, the fluffiness, the flavor it was all perfect she thought.

“Sooo good.” she grumbled talking while she was still chewing.

Celestia smiled as she sat down in her chair and began to feed Spike,

“I’m glad you like them so much Twilight, I haven't had to make this much in a while. It certainly was fun to cook for more than just myself and Cadence for a change.” she said. The five of them sat at the table quietly eating their breakfast, Twilight finished eating and eagerly announced,

“All done!” Holding up her plate as she did.

“All right, just leave your dishes there Twilight. Now go to the washroom and get ready for school all right?” Celestia replied, Twilight set her plate down and rushed off, Cadence followed shortly after, lastly Shining walked away. Celestia finished her tea and wiped the food from Spike’s face, she started to place the dirty dishes onto the serving cart when she noticed Shining’s plate was still half full.

“Maybe...maybe, he wasn't that hungry is all.” she thought before throwing away the last of his food and adding his dishes to the pile. She turned to Spike who eagerly waited to be picked up,

“Now then Spike, lets go see what the day has in store us shall we?”

It had been a week since Twilight had been to school, she was a little nervous, but she was also eager to see her friends again as well. She made her way through the halls eventually arriving at her classroom, her teacher turned to see her and knelt down to greet her.

“Twilight so good to see you, are you doing all right sweetheart?” she asked.

Twilight smiled and nodded, “I'm ok, really I am. I’ve been staying with Princess Celestia at her castle.” she replied,

“That's good, I'm glad to see her taking such good care of you. Now take your seat, class’ll be starting soon.” Twilight walked to her desk and sat down, Moondancer was at her desk next to Twilight’s. She leaned over as Twilight set her things down,

“Hey Twilight, you’ve been gone for a while. Where’ve you been?” she asked. Twilight glanced away for a moment nervous to tell Moondancer about her parents and instead just answered with

“I was with the Princess, she had some stuff to teach me and Shining. That’s all.”

Moondancer bounced in her seat excitedly,

“You get to spend so much time with Princess Celestia, I'm sooo jealous!” she exclaimed. The morning bell for the school rang shortly after as the teacher called her students attention and began to teach the class. The day went on and Twilight was handling the day pretty well given what had happened to her.

“All right class, now open your textbooks to page 42.” the teacher announced, Moondancer leaned over to Twilight and whispered,

“I forgot my textbook Twilight, can we share again?” Twilight smiled and nodded sliding her book closer to Moondancer. Twilight flipped through the pages using her magic until she got to the page the teacher had asked for. Twilight froze as across the top of the page was a picture of a crescent moon and three stars next to it. Twilight memories suddenly began to flow back to earlier in the week, she remembered the funeral, and the thought her parents were gone. Moondancer looked up to see Twilight’s face beginning to tense up tears forming in her eyes as she looked at the book.

“Twi? Is everything ok? Your crying.” she asked, almost immediately Twilight broke, crying loud enough to interrupt the whole class.

Celestia rushed through the front doors of the school, Twilight’s teacher was there to greet her she came in.

“I got here as soon as I could.” she said, Celestia quickly glanced at her surroundings before asking,

“Where is she?”

The teacher turned to look down the hall and said,

“Shes hiding in the supply closet down the hall, she locked herself in there. I thought about getting the janitor at first, but I think its better if you could get her to come out on her own.” Celestia nodded and walked down the hallway reaching the closet, she walked up to the door and could hear Twilight on the other side crying. She gently knocked on the door,

“Twilight? Its me, Celestia. Are you ok?” she asked. A moment passed before Twilight began to talk between her sobs.

“Prin...Princess?...I’m sorry...I, I really tried not to cry...but...” Celestia smiled, she felt relieved to hear Twilight talk to her at least.

“Twilight, you dont have to be sorry about crying. Its only natural that you would after what you’ve been through.” she replied. Celestia stood outside the door for the moment before asking,

“Twilight? Can you unlock the door? I’d feel better if I could see you.” Another minute passed as Celestia waited, then she heard the click of the doors lock. She smiled and opened the door, she walked in to see the tiny pony sitting on the far side of the closet slumped over with her back to her. Celestia closed the door behind her before sitting down and waiting, Twilight slowly looked over her shoulder, her face covered in tears and a small trickle of snot coming out of her nose, her mane a mess. Celestia smiled as she held out her legs to offer Twilight a hug, she sprinted across the closet and wrapped her legs around Celestia’s stomach the best she could and began crying aloud again. The two sat there for short while, Celestia slowly brushing Twilight’s mane as she cried into her stomach. Eventually Twilight finally managed to stop crying,

“So? Are you feeling better now?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded yes,

“Twilight can I tell something?” she asked. Twilight nodded yes again sniffing as she did.

“I lost my parents too, it was a long time ago though. And just like you I cried so much when they were gone.”

Twilight looked up at Celestia surprised, “You did? Did you ever stop crying?” she asked. Celestia nodded, looking up at the light dangling from the ceiling.

“Eventually I did, and do you want to know how I did it?” she answered looking back down at the purple filly. Twilight nodded yes again,

“I thought about all special pony’s that I still had in my life, and when I did I realized that they would be there to help me, to pick me back up whenever I cried. Do you have anyone like that Twilight? Is there any pony whose still special to you?” Celestia asked. Twilight thought for a moment, she sniffed her nose again, still crying a little.

“I...I’ve got Shiny...and Spike...Cadence cares about me.” she replied, she looked up at Celestia,

“And you care too? Right Princess?” Celestia smiled and leaned down nuzzling Twilight as she did,

“Of course, I do Twilight. And I will always be here to pick you back up no matter how many times you fall and start to cry.” Twilight finally began to smile and hugged Celestia tighter than she already had been.

“So, do you think your ready to go back to class now?” Celestia asked,

“Can I have a little more time?” Twilight answered.

Celestia chuckled and said, “Twilight you take as long as you need to.”

Author's Note

I do not take credit for owning MLP, or the art I used for a cover piece. Both are merely my inspirations. I apologize for any typos I type fast when motivated. Please enjoy my fic.

Big Brother, Best Friend, Forever

Celestia walked Twiliight back to her classroom, “Remember what we talked about, Okay Twilight?” she said. Twilight looked up and smiled,

“It’s ok to cry if you’re feeling sad but when you do just remember everypony who’s still here for you.” Celestia added.

“I will Princess.” Twilight said eagerly. The two reached the door to Twilight’s class, Twilight went to open the door but paused for a moment. She looked back at Celestia and walked over hugging her one last time.

“Thank you Princess, I really, really, mean it” she said. Twilight turned and opened the door and went back to class. Celestia stood smiling for a moment thinking about how Twilight was handling her situation. She began to wonder about her brother as well, but she knew not to force a talk with him. She turned and left the school, she still had a long day ahead of her, plus she couldn’t imagine the trouble Spike was giving her attendants while she was away. Celestia stepped out of the school the sun shining down on her, she paused for a moment and then began to think for a moment about how she could help Shining and Twilight and then came up with a good idea.

The weekend had finally come, Shining slept in his bed the blankets pulled over his head. He was tired from going to school all week and he was in no mood to get up anytime soon.

“SHINY!!!” a voice shrieked from beside him as he sprang up,

“What? What’s going on?” he shouted as he turned to see Twilight smiling beside his bed. She danced in place with excitement not saying anything, Shining grinned back at her, he wanted to be angry but he also couldn’t stay mad at his kid sister.

“Twily? I can’t get excited too if you don’t tell me what’s happening.” he said.

Twilight spun in a circle her excitement more than apparent, “Princess Celestia took the day off!” She shouted, Shining was confused by what she meant.

“She...took the day...off?” he asked.

Twilight shook her head yes, “She said she got all her work done yesterday so she could spend the day with us! We get to spend all day with her, aren’t you excited!?” she said. Shining wasn’t sure what to think of this, he didn’t share Twilight’s enthusiasm when it came to Celestia. He was still adjusting to living in a castle, but he also knew better than to ruin his sisters excitement.

“Now hurry up and come get breakfast, this is gonna be the best day ever!” Twilight shouted before rushing out the bedroom door. Shining climbed out of his bed and muttered to himself,

“Yeah...best day ever...”

The four pony’s walked together out the front gate of the castle, Celestia had left her regalia behind to try and blend in. Her mane and tail tied back to be less cumbersome for the day, she carried Spike in a small pouch on her chest.

“So, who gets first pick at what we’re going to do today?” she asked, she looked around at the young pony’s with her, Twilight bounced up and down waving her hoof.

“Let’s let Twilight go first Auntie.” Cadence said, Celestia giggled and leaned down to Twilight and asked,

“All right then, where to first Twilight?” Twilight hopped around in a circle before announcing,

“Book store!!!” Cadence giggled at Twilight’s choice as Shining simply rolled his eyes, he wasn’t surprised by Twilight’s choice.

“All right, lets go to the book store.” Celestia confirmed, the four of them made their way across Canterlot. Arriving at the store Twilight eagerly rushed inside, Cadence chased after her shouting for her to slow down. Celestia walked up to the door she looked back to see Shining standing alone in the street his attention elsewhere,

“Are you going to wait out here Shining?” she asked.

He turned to look at her and after a moment he answered,

“No, I’ll come inside. I was just...thinking is all.” Celestia smiled and walked into the store Shining following shortly after. Upon entering the small shop she could hear Twilight and Cadence from the entrance, Twilight was eagerly talking about a new set of books about stars and constellations she had found, Cadence trying to tell Twilight to keep her voice down. Celestia walked across the store a few other pony’s in the shop greeting her as she did, Celestia said hello so as not to be rude of course. She moved around the corner to find Twilight already a small stack of five books, Cadence only having a one tucked under her wing.

“Well, you certainly didn’t waste any time Twilight.” Celestia said, Twilight looked back and smiled holding up one of her books.

“These just came out today! I’ve been waiting all week for this!” she said, Twilight began to flip through the pages with her magic all the while talking to Celestia about them. She looked up at Cadence and asked,

“Did you find anything Cadence?” Cadence blushed a little looking at the book tucked under her wing,

“It’s just a romance novel...nothing too outrageous. It’s also been hard to look around while keeping an eye on Twilight.” she replied. The three of them looked around the store for few more minutes, Twilight was eager to add more books to what she had. But Celestia had to limit her to five, otherwise Twilight would walk out with half the stores inventory. Cadence found another novel she wanted and they made their way to the register. Celestia paused when she realized she hadn’t seen Shining since she came in.

She looked at the cashier and said,

“I’ll be right back to pay for these.” Celestia walked around the store, she managed to find Shining looking at the comics on the far side of the store. He had a few hovering in front of him as though he were thinking.

“Is there anything you wanted Shining? Cadence and Twilight already picked something.” she asked. Shining set the comics back on the shelf and walked past her towards the register,

“No...I’m fine.” he said, Celestia watched as he walked by and replied,

“If you’re sure, but its ok if you change your mind.” Shining walked down the lane of the store and stopped at the entrance waiting for the others silently. Celestia tried to think of something to cheer Shining up, but just decided to try and get him to pick something for them to do next instead. Celestia returned to the register and paid for the books they’d gotten she placed the books in her saddle bags and thanked the clerk.

The five of them walked out of the shop Twilight was in front reading one of her new books as she walked, Cadence and Shining behind her and Celestia following them.

“So? What’s next?” she asked, she looked at Shining and smiled asking.

“Do you want to take your turn Shining?” He looked at Celestia for a moment, but then he looked away.

“I can wait...let Cadence pick next.” he said, Cadence looked at Celestia nervously. She knew her aunt was just trying to help, Cadence quickly came up with an idea to break the awkward silence.

“So…how about we go to the park for a while? The weather is gorgeous today, right Auntie?” Cadence said. Celestia smiled and agreed, Twilight became excited looking away from her book and asking.

“Can we go kite flying? Shiny and I haven’t gone kite flying in forever!” Celestia walked over and gave Twilight a small hug with her wing,

“I think we can do that.” she said. After a brief stop at the castle to get Twilight and Shining’s kites they made their way to the park. The kites lifted to the sky, Twilight smiled back at Cadence, Celestia was happy to see Twilight enjoying herself so much. She looked over to see Shining a little further away sitting beneath a tree, his kite on the ground beside him.

“Cadence.” Celestia whispered, she looked as Celestia lifted Spike up and handed him to her.

“Can you watch Spike and Twilight for a moment?” she asked, Cadence looked to see Shining by himself then back at Celestia. Cadence smiled and nodded taking Spike and holding him in her hooves. Shining sat looking at the horizon, a good view of downtown Canterlot could be seen from the park. Celestia approached and asked,

“Is your kite broken?” Shining looked at Celestia then his kite and said.

“No...I’m just not in the mood right now.” Celestia sat next to him she picked up his kite and looked at it,

“Did you make this yourself? I’m amazed you got it to look just like your cutie mark.” she said. She looked at Shining hoping he’d talk to her, but Shining didn’t say anything, he just sat in silence.

“Shining...I know its not easy right now, but you can talk to me if somethings bothering you.” she said, Shining turned to look at Celestia. She gave a smile hoping he’d open up to her, instead he stood up and walked over to Cadence and Twilight.

“I’m fine princess...really, I am.” Celestia could tell he was lying but she knew trying to force it would only make things worse. She stood up and walked back over to the others,

“Princess.” Twilight groaned as she walked up to her, “I’m getting hungry, can we have lunch?” Twilight asked. Celestia smiled putting her hoof to her chin thinking,

“I suppose it is that time of day. Where should we go? Back to the castle maybe?” she asked, Twilight’s face lit up instantly with excitement as she shouted,

“Hayburger!!” Cadence and Celestia giggled at Twilight’s reaction. Celestia answered Twilight’s response,

“I must admit, I’ve never actually been to a Hayburger before. So lets go there.”

Celestia held the door to the restaurant open as Twilight rushed inside, the others following shortly after. Twilight sat at the counter looking back at Celestia with a smile, the cashier stood in awe he couldn’t begin to understand why both Princess Cadence and Celestia would be in a fast food joint of all places. Celestia walked over and asked Twilight,

“So what do you want Twilight?”

“Filly meal!” she replied almost instantly. Celestia looked at Cadence and asked what she wanted, Cadence looked over the menu for a moment before asking for a garden salad and a drink. Shining walked up beside Cadence and asked for a double Hayburger combo,

“And for you princess?” the cashier asked nervously as he looked at Celestia.

“Hmm...” Celestia muttered as she looked at the menu,

“I think I’ll try the Caesar carrot wrap combo.” she answered. The cashier nervously totaled up their order, Celestia paid for the food a few minutes later they all sat down at a booth in the corner of the restaurant to eat. Celestia took care to feed Spike first, she had brought some tiny gems for him to eat from the castle. As the five of them ate Celestia spoke up and asked,

“So, what should we do next?”

Twilight with bits of ketchup and hayburger on her mouth pointed to Shining and announced,

“It’s Shiny’s turn to pick!”

“Well, what should we do next Shining? There’s no limits today.” Celestia asked, Shining sat quietly putting his burger down on his tray.

“Come on Shiny! Pick something.” Twilight said, his silence only made for an uncomfortable tension as they waited. Celestia began to speak,

“It’s ok if you need some time to think, we can finish...”

“Just stop...” Shining interrupted. Cadence and Celestia looked at Shining surprised,

“Stop acting like everything’s fine...” he snapped, Cadence looked at Celestia an uneasy look came across both their faces.

“Shining, I wasn’t trying to imply...” Celestia tried to explain, but Shining snapped at her again,

“You keep acting like nothings wrong, but everything is wrong! Our parents are gone, were living in a castle, and now your trying to act like you’re our mother or something!!” he shouted. A long silence came over the restaurant, Celestia looked away she couldn’t look him in the eyes now.

“I...I wasn’t...I’d never try to...” she said as she tried to fight back her sadness. Shining stood up from his seat and walked out of the restaurant without a word, the quiet in the room suddenly broke as Spike began to cry. Celestia picked him and began to rock him back and forth,

“But...we...we were having so much fun today.” Twilight said a tear forming in each of her eyes. Celestia hugged Twilight with her wing trying to keep her from getting upset. Cadence leaned across the table putting her hoof on Celestia’s and saying

“Don’t worry Auntie, I’ll go talk to him. I can fix this.” Celestia smiled and nodded, Cadence got out of her seat and left to find Shining.

Cadence walked down the street asking anypony she could if they had seen Shining Armor, it didn’t take long for her to find out where he had gone. Cadence flew across Canterlot, the skies turned gray and it began to rain on her mid flight. Cadence landed in the Canterlot suburbs, she cast a small shield spell above her head to keep the rain off of her. Sure enough she found Shining right where she was told he’d be, sitting on the porch to his family’s old house. She walked up to him cautiously unsure what kind of mood he was in. The rain poured onto his head dripping onto the ground all around him,

“Hey, Shining...Is it ok if we talk?” Cadence asked, he didn’t answer. Cadence altered her shield to cover her and Shining both and approached him again. She stood in front of him she couldn’t see his face as he stared at the ground,

“Shining...I know you miss your parents, Twilight does too. But, Auntie didn’t mean any harm today. She just wanted to give us all a day where we could have fun. I know you don’t want to hear this but, she’s just trying to make things easier is all. She never wanted you to forget about them or what happened.” Cadence said. Shining didn’t answer though,

“I’ll...just leave you alone then...” Cadence became disheartened and she started to turn to leave.

“I miss them..” Cadence gasped as she looked back at Shining. “I miss them so much...Dad’s stupid jokes...Mom constantly reminding me to do every little thing...” he said, Cadence walked over and sat next to Shining. She leaned forward and could see he was crying, she couldn’t tell before because of the rain.

“I know Celestia wasn’t trying to replace them, but I felt like I needed to blame someone for this, that I needed to be angry at someone for them being gone...” he continued.

Cadence hugged Shining tight and said,

“But its not any pony’s fault though. It was an accident, and you know that.”

“Yeah...and that’s why I’m so angry, because I can’t blame any pony or anything for this...and I took it out on her because I wouldn’t talk about it. I should’ve talked about it when she asked. Now she probably hates me, heh, I wouldn’t be surprised if Twily hated me now too...she looks up to Celestia so much.” he sobbed. Cadence wrapped her wings around Shining trying her best to hug him as much as she could,

“You know Twilight could never hate her BBBFF, and I know Auntie doesn’t hate you. She may be a little upset, but I know she doesn’t hate you.” Shining looked up at Cadence a smile on his face finally,

“Thanks Cadence, I really mean it. I’m not sure what I’d do without you.” he said, Cadence playfully rolled her eyes and joked.

“Probably run away from home and get into all sorts of trouble and I’d have to come save you from it all.” The two laughed and sat on the porch for a few minutes longer, the rain slowly came to a stop as the sun began to shine through the clouds and onto the city below. Cadence let go of Shining and asked,

“So? Are you ready to go back?”

He nodded and said, “Yeah, in fact...I think I’ve got something for us to do together before the days over.”

Celestia laid on her bed Twilight playing with Spike in front of her, she was worried about Cadence and Shining. They’d been gone for a few hours, she trusted her niece but she couldn’t help but worry about the two of them. A knock came from her bedroom door as she heard Cadence speak from the other side,

“Auntie, I’m back, can I come in?” Twilight stood up excited and smiled at Celestia,

“Its unlocked Cadence.” she said.

The door opened revealing Cadence and Shining standing in the hallway, “Shiny!” Twilight shouted as she rushed over to hug her brother, he hugged her back with a smile.

“Hey Twily, It’s good to see you too.” he said, Twilight stepped back and then hugged Cadence. Shining looked up at Celestia, an uneasy smile on her face.

“Umm...Princess...I’m sorry, about before. I said some horrible things and I know it was unfair of me. I just wanted to say that is all.” Shining said, He looked back to see Celestia’s smile become brighter, she stood up and walked over and hugged him.

“I’m glad you decided to come back, I know its not the same, but I hope you’ll see this as home one day.” Celestia said. Celestia stepped back, Cadence looked at Shining out of the corner of her eye and gave him a gentle nudge with her wing before motioning towards Celestia. Shining rolled his eyes at Cadence before asking,

“If there’s still time left, I thought of something we could do before the day is over.” Twilight gasped with excitement, Celestia smiled and said,

“Oh? And what would that be?” Shining looked at Cadence who smiled back and he answered,

“Watch the sunset together, like a family.”

Author's Note

Phew, that was hard to right. Actually got a little teary eyed writing the Cadence and Shining conversation. But that's usually how I can tell I'm on the right track writing these. Well hope you enjoyed chapter 2! Leave some comments, I'd like to hear some feedback.

Preparing for the Gala

“The Galloping Gala?” Celestia asked, the House of Sun sat all gathered around the dining table, Sunset sat next to Twilight, Kibitz next to Celestia handing her papers as they talked.

“Yeah, we thought it’d be a good way to help every pony see that Aunt Luna’s changed.” Cadence said with a smile.

“We’ve already got everything figured out, Cadence will set up the Gala herself, I’m going to write a speech for Aunt Luna for when she introduces herself to every pony, Sunset’s going to get Wallflower to bring a few journalists from her job at the newspaper, and Shining’s going to make sure everything's safe and secure!” Twilight explained,

Spike looked around and asked. “What about me?”

Cadence smiled and said, “You can help me with the preparations, or help Sunset. There’s plenty to do.” They all looked back at Celestia and Luna sitting on the end of the table, Celestia seemed to like the idea but Luna had an uneasy look on her face.

“I...I don’t know, last time I tried to talking to other ponies it didn’t go so well.” she said, Celestia put her hoof on Luna’s back and reassured her.

“I promise it’ll be alright Luna, we’ll all be right there with you the whole time. Just trust us to make this better.” Luna smiled at Celestia and looked around the table at the rest of her family, they all looked back at her smiling eager to help.

“Okay...If you think this can work, then I’m willing to try at least.” she said. Celestia sat up with a smile,

“Excellent, then I expect every pony to do their jobs to their absoute best. We have to make sure this goes perfect, Kibitz, would mind sending out the invitations? I hate to have to add more work to your schedule, but this is important.” Kibitz smiled and took a polite bow,

“Of course your majesty, I understand completely. I will complete this task with great haste as always. Shall I give extra invitations for your family in case there is any pony they wish to invite?” he said. Celestia looked across the table,

“I don’t see why not. After all the more ponies who show up for the gala the better.” Celestia added, a moment later they all left to complete their tasks, Cadence, Spike, and Twilight walked together.

“This is so exciting, I usually hate going to the Gala. But this year is so different!” Cadence said with a smile,

“I know! I gotta get over to the library and start combing through the restricted section for anything about Aunt Luna, I have to make sure the speech I write for her is perfect!” Twilight added. Cadence suddenly gasped coming to a dead stop in the hall,

“What’re we going to wear though?” she asked, Twilight looked at Spike the two of them confused.

“Well, we could always call the royal tailor and have them make something new for us.” she replied. Cadence shook her head a serious look on her face,

“Twilight, this is going to be Aunt Luna’s big moment. We have to look our absolute best for this! And I’m not so sure the royal tailor is up to the task, we may have to find some other pony to help.” Cadence added,

“Well, where could we go? I don’t know many other places in Canterlot we could go for dresses.” Twilight said, Spike cleared his throat getting both their attention. He stood smiling a confident look on his face,

“I just happen to have the perfect idea where to go.”

Spike eagerly walked ahead of Twilight and Cadence, finally stopping as they reached a shop in downtown Canterlot. Twilight looked up at the sign,

“Canterlot Carousel? I’ve never heard of this place, did they just open?” she asked. Cadence gave a sly smile to Spike, he blushed a little and cleared his throat before explaining.

“I, uh...heard from a friend. The shop just opened today, plus I’m told the owner is really good at this. So I figured we could help out a local business while also getting the clothes you need.” Cadence leaned towards Spike and asked,

“Is that the only reason you brought us here?” she teased, Spike pointed at Cadence giving her a serious glare. Cadence giggled and stood up, Twilight looked back at the two of them confused she wondered what the two of them were keeping from her. They three entered the shop, a small bell ringing above the door as they walked in, they looked around and didn’t any one in the store though. All the displays were set up, racks of dresses and clothes were everywhere, a small table with a tea set and snacks as well. Twilight began to look through all the dresses on display,

“Oooh, these are actually really nice.” she said. Cadence began to look through the dresses with her,

“Wow, these are gorgeous.” Cadence said as she looked at the displays by the window. Spike stood with his arms crossed a smile on his face, suddenly he was hugged from behind.

“Spike! I’m so glad to see you!” he looked to see Sweetie standing behind him, wearing a vest and tie, a smile on her face.

“Sweetie! I thought you had to go back home today? I mean... I’m still glad to see you and all.” he said his face blushing.

“Nope, my sister said I was such a big help setting things up that she wanted me to stay and help run her shop! I’m staying in Canterlot!” she announced before dancing in place happily. Twilight and Cadence watched the two talking, how much they liked each other was more than obvious. Twilight looked at Cadence who watched with a smile,

“How long has this been going on?” she whispered to Cadence. She looked at Twilight,

“Shh, don’t ruin this Twilight.” she whispered back. After a moment Spike looked over at Cadence and Twilight,

“Oh right, uh, Sweetie. We came by cause I was hoping maybe your sister could help my sister and Cadence with some dresses.” he said as he pointed to the two of them, Sweetie looked over and gasped in shock.

“Princess Cadence! And Princess Twilight too!” she shouted, Twilight rolled her eyes and explained.

“Well, I’m not actually a princess. I’m just Princess Celestia’s adopted daughter is all, its a common mistake most ponies make.” Sweetie was overjoyed to see such famous ponies and instantly ran towards the back of the shop shouting,

“RARITY! We’ve got customers! And you won’t believe me when I tell you who they are!” She looked back at the three and began hopping in place her smile bigger than ever, Rarity emerged from the back wearing a pair of reading glasses, a tape measure around her neck, and a small red ball with sewing needles sticking out of it attached to her leg.

“Sweetie Belle, what have I told you about shouting? You’re going to scare the customers away with such misbehavior.” she said, she looked up and saw Twilight and Cadence and immediately gasped in shock.

“OH MY STARS!!!” she quickly threw her glasses and other supplies in the room behind her and touched up her mane.

“Princess Cadence, and Twilight in my shop on opening day! Oh, your majesty’s I cannot say how honored I am.” she said walking up to them.

”Hi, its nice to meet you. Twilight and I were hoping maybe you could make some dresses for us for the upcoming Galloping Gala, It’s going to be a big night and we want to look our best.” Rarity gasped covering her mouth as she did,

“And you came to me? Oh, I cannot began to express my gratitude. Sweetie, hurry and go get my things! I have to get started on this right away!” she said, Sweetie smiled and ran into the back returning with tape measure, notepad, and quill. Rarity instantly began taking Cadence’s measurements writing them as she went,

“So what exactly is it that your wanting Princess Cadence? I assure you I’ll do everything I can to meet yours and Princess Twilight’s expectations.” she asked,

“Actually I’m not a...” Twilight started to explain, Cadence interrupted though.

“Well, this year’s gala is a bit of a special event you see. So Twilight and I wanted something different, were not looking to be the center of attention but we still need to look our best.” she said, Rarity paused and smiled,

“Oh, I completely understand Darling. After all, it would be absolutely rude to look better then the Princess Celestia, especially since she’s the hostess after all.” Rarity finished Cadence’s measurements and started on Twilight’s,

“I’m thinking we need to a nice bright shade of green for you Princess Cadence and for Princess Twilight I’m thinking a darker shade of blue, to help bring out the color of your coat.” Rarity said, Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I’m actually not a Princess, and you don’t have to be so formal with us really. Just call me Twilight.” she replied, Rarity gasped.

“Oh no, no, no, no, I simply couldn’t darling. You’re a prestigious member of the House of Sun, that’d be far too formal since we just met.” Cadence laughed,

“It’s ok Rarity really, and you can just call me Cadence. I insist.” Rarity smiled putting her hoof on her chest,

“Oh such kind words, I can clearly see why every pony adores your family so much. I promise, I’ll put everything I can into making these dresses the best they can be, you have my word.” Rarity said, Twilight looked over and noticed Spike and Sweetie talking, she smiled and thought for a moment before turning to Rarity.

“Well, you know. I have an extra invitation to the Gala, maybe you could bring your sister and meet the rest of our family?” Twilight asked, pulling a small envelope out of her saddlebag. Rarity stared in awe as Twilight handed her the invitation, Rarity was speechless but her face quickly turned to a smile.

“Princ...I mean, Twilight, thank you so much darling. I don’t know what to say, when I moved to Canterlot and never would’ve imagined this to happen at all.” Cadence stepped towards Rarity and Twilight and asked,

“Why move to Canterlot?” Rarity sat down taking her glasses off,

“Well, I certainly didn’t find anything wrong with Ponyville. It is my hometown after all and even I feel a little homesick now and again. But I did find myself in a bit of a creative slump you see, I’m not really sure how to explain it...but, it just felt like Ponyville was missing something, or maybe someone recently. So I decided to sell my old shop and pack up my things, a fresh start if you will. A small town mare trying to make a big name for herself in the big city.” she explained.

“I can understand that, though I imagine it must be hard trying to get your shop off the ground from scratch.” Twilight said. Rarity nodded in agreement,

“Yes, it has been...a bit taxing trying to get customers, oh but its only my first day. Plus, I’m sure once every pony finds out some of my first customers were members of the House of Sun I’m sure business will simply boom.” Rarity finished getting Twilight’s measurements, Cadence and Twilight paid and left the shop saying goodbye to Sweetie and Rarity.

“Well, that was fun. I hope we get to get see more of her.” Cadence said with a smile,

“Maybe we should come back again after the gala, I’m sure Spike wouldn’t mind.” Twilight teased, Spike looked at Twilight annoyed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and even if I did. It’s none of you business.” he said walking ahead of them with a smile. Cadence whispered to Twilight,

“They are so cute together, aren’t they?” the two giggled as they walked back to the castle.

Author's Note

Another slow chapter to help set things up, also a good way to finally get Rarity and Twilight into the same room. :raritywink: Next chapter should be the big night, Luna's time to shine at the Galloping Gala! :twilightsmile: As usual, I'll try and get the next update out as soon as I can. So in the meantime just enjoy this chapter and maybe read some of my other works (even if this is my main focus.) Anyway leave some comments and hope you enjoyed the update! :pinkiesmile:

Midnight's End

Rarity watched Spike floating helplessly in the air a black aura wrapped around him squeezing him tight, Midnight Sparkle standing a few steps away with a smile on her face.

“Honestly, why do they even keep you around? Take away the fire and you’ve got nothing left...” she taunted. Then she glanced to the side and Spike was launched across the room landing close to Cadence, the sound of him sliding across the floor making a loud screeching noise against the tile. Midnight turned her attention back to Rarity now trembling in fear, as she took a step towards her, Rarity took a step back. Midnight grinned and then in sudden cloud of shadow and smoke disappeared. Rarity looked around in a panic and then she felt her leaning behind her, whispering to her in a sinister tone.

“You weren’t planning on leaving were you?” Midnight asked. Rarity turned and immediately raised a barrier around herself the fear in her eyes was more than apparent now, she wasn’t an alicorn, she barely knew any combat magic at that, and now she was alone facing this monster that was once her friend. Midnight looked at Rarity’s barrier and chuckled with a single stomp of her hoof dark magic rushed outward shattering Rarity’s barrier like it was nothing. Rarity was frozen with fear now as Midnight approached her again, she leaned in close and smiled at her.

“You know there was a reason I had chosen you first...” Midnight said, she slowly began to walk in a circle around Rarity who watched her every step.

“You had grace, elegance, a fairly considerable amount of magic for an ordinary unicorn, plus you were close to the royal family...” Midnight paused for a moment standing behind Rarity.

“And then there’s that flank...” She said with a smile before smacking Rarity across her flank, Rarity moved away turning and facing her both front hooves on her thigh, now a little sore from Midnight’s slap.

“And you should know you don’t have to die alongside the rest of these fools, as I said before. You are gorgeous, and I am going to need a queen. What do you say? Anything in all of Equestria could be yours, bits, jewelry, the finest clothes...of course if being queen is too much, you could settle for concubine.” Midnight said with a smile. Rarity’s expression immediately turned to anger and she stood up and slapped her across the face. Midnight was naturally unfazed by her slap, Rarity now held her hoof having hit her too hard.

“Oh, now that’s what I like to see. I love when they play hard to get...” she laughed. Then she was suddenly rammed from the side knocking her across the throne room and away from Rarity, she slid to a stop and looked back to see Celestia standing next to Rarity. Her regalia in pieces, covered in injuries that were bleeding, her left wing dangling at her side clearly broken now, but more than that a look of sheer defiance on her face.

“You will NOT harm any pony that lives within my kingdom. Do you hear me?!” she shouted. Midnight rolled her eyes, Celestia’s defiance was more a nuisance than anything now.

“I cannot believe, you’re still willing to fight at this point...I’ve proven over and over how much stronger I am than all of you, and yet you keep getting back up. Still, it does make me wonder. What if I had chosen you a thousand years ago instead of Luna? What would we have called ourselves? Sunseeker? Dawnkiller? No...I think, Daybreaker would’ve been a good choice. But it doesn’t matter now, I have Twilight and there’s little you can all do stop me.” Midnight gloated she went to approach Celestia but then felt a weight on one of her hooves she looked down to see Shining Armor holding her leg tight. His face was bloodied and swollen, one eye shut tight from his injuries, despite this he still clung to Midnight’s leg.

“Oh for the love of...now you’re going to start this again?” she groaned.

“TWILIGHT!!!” Shining shouted, “If you don’t start fighting back right now! I swear! I’ll never let you have the Sibling Supreme Crown ever again! Now get out here baby sister!!!” Midnight looked at Shining confused then back to Celestia,

“Sibling supreme? Crown? Wow...what thrilling lives you must all live here at the palace...” she said. “Back to business though...” Midnight went to step towards Celestia but then she stopped suddenly, her eyes widened in shock and she looked back at Shining.

“What the? Why is my body getting stiff? I can barely move...” she thought. Celestia watched Midnight closely as she took notice of the surprise in her face, then she saw Twilight’s cutie mark begin to to flash. At first it was slow, but then it got faster Celestia then saw Shining’s mark and it began to flash too in perfect sync with Twilight’s. Celestia gasped realizing what might be happening,

“Twilight...” she whispered. Midnight tried to move, tried to get Shining to let go of her but couldn’t and in anger snapped at him.

“Get off of me you idiot! She can’t hear you!!! She can’t hear any of you!!” Then midnight shook as Spike suddenly hugged her opposite of Shining, the second he grabbed her the green scales along his back started to flash same as their cutie marks.

“Come on Twilight!! Get out here! We’re right here waiting!!” Spike shouted, Midnight grit her teeth trying to move away she didn’t understand what was happening now. They’d made contact with her all throughout this fight, why was it doing this to her now she thought. Then she felt a weight across her back a pair of pink hooves wrapping around her neck,

“Twilight! We’re right here! You can do it! I know you can!!!” Cadence shouted, Celestia rushed to her family in haste Midnight saw her approach and shouted back.

“Get away from me! All of you!!!” Celestia reached them and hugged Midnight tightly, Spike’s scales and all their cutie marks now glowing a bright white color rather than flashing.

“Twilight you can do this! You can beat him!! Now fight! Fight with every ounce of strength you have!” Celestia added. Midnight could feel her grip on Twilight’s body slipping now, it wasn’t them doing this. It had to be Twilight, this required correction immediately she thought.

Nightmare appeared in the dark domain with a thunderous boom, furious at what was happening back in the throne room. He looked ahead and there he saw Twilight sitting eyes closed, perfectly still meditating a white glow all around her. Floating around her moving in a perfect circle was the cutie marks of her family save for Luna’s and a set of scales like Spike’s all glowing as well.

“What do you think you’re doing?! You think you can beat me!? That you can break free of my control!?” He shouted as he stomped towards her, Twilight opened her eyes and looked back at him with no fear in her gaze.

“Yes...you controlled aunt Luna for all those years because you allowed her to think she was in control. That Nightmare Moon was her doing, and that’s where your strength came from. You made the mistake of allowing me to watch though. And now that I know my family is by my side, you have no power over me anymore.” Twilight answered. The shadows that held Twilight in place for so long now began to burn and disappear, Nightmare’s face turned to one of fury at the sight of this.

“FINE! Let’s see how you enjoy being a mindless husk for the next few centuries then!!” he shouted as he unleashed a barrage of dark magics and shadows at Twilight. The two opposing magics collided with one another, Twilight’s face tensed up from the strain her magic being pushed back slowly.

“You’re weak Twilight! You’re nothing! Celestia chose you as a student out of pity and deep down you know that! Sunset was always your better! You were only ever there to push her to be better! And every pony knows it!!” he shouted to her. Twilight grit her teeth and tried to focus her magic to push back against his, but his rage gave him so much strength now she was slowly losing.

“It’s not enough...I need more...I need more help!” Twilight thought. Then she felt a presence behind her, a soothing calm that embraced her like a warm hug that was all too familiar to her.

“I’m right here Twilight...and now, you have all of us here to help you.” a voice whispered to her gently. Twilight’s eyes opened and she smiled saying,

“Aunt Luna...” The dark magics slowly engulfing Twilight suddenly shattered his attacks now being pushed back to where he could see Twilight again.

“What?! How?” he shouted and then he saw another cutie appear behind her, Luna’s cutie mark. The light of Twilight’s magic grew even stronger despite Nightmare’s best efforts he was now being quickly overwhelmed. The light soon reached him and began to burn away at his body, what’s more he knew this power he had felt before, a thousand years ago as Nightmare Moon. He screamed in pain as the magic slowly began to destroy him

“That’s...not possible!! They aren’t here!! If they were in the castle, I’d have shattered them!!!” The Ele...” then in a burst of white light Nightmare disappeared his screams of agony being drowned out by Twilight’s magic.

Back in the throne Twilight’s family stood hugging Midnight tightly, she was screaming in pain now, her body burning up. Then dark magics poured out of her at a rapid rate as they did Twilight slowly returned to her normal size, color, and appearance until at long last she was back to normal. A minute or so passed and Spike was the first to look and see,

“Twilight!!!” he shouted. The others looked up and saw but instead of letting her go they only hugged her tighter. Twilight was slow to speak up though,

“I’m...I’m so...so sorry...I, I didn’t mean for this to happen...I just wanted to help...I swear. I was only trying to save Rarity!” she sobbed. Celestia looked up at Twilight and wiped her eyes,

“Its okay Twilight...its over now, we can talk about it later. But right now just let us all have this...” she said. Then a hoarse coughing and wheezing interrupted them, they all turned and to their shock there was Nightmare. But he was different now, much different, his size was the same as Twilight’s his body withered and malnourished looking, black smoke leaking from his body. He struggled just to stand as he glared back at the House of Sun between coughs he muttered,

“How?...How did...how did you do that?! The elements...you shouldn’t have been able...to use them...if they weren’t here...” Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise of Nightmare’s words, she glanced at Twilight surprised. Twilight’s face turned to one of anger as she marched towards Nightmare, who tried to move away, he stumbled and limped at a slow pace though.

“You! You tried to control my friend! You turned my Aunt into a monster for a thousand years! You made me hurt MY FAMILY! How dare you!” Twilight shouted her horn glowing with magic as she continued to storm towards him. Nightmare glared back finally stopping his retreat,

“You should be thanking me! Because of me you know what kind of power you have now!” he coughed and wheezed again,

“Because of me you were greater than even Celestia!” Twilight’s anger didn’t vanish as she stormed towards him she only paused when a bright blue suddenly lit the throne room. Nightmare turned to look and he saw the light shining above the doorway and then finally Luna appeared landing on the floor with a feather touch. She looked ahead and saw the shape her family was in, she quickly surveyed the room and then saw Sunset nearby still unconscious. Luna’s face went from shocked to furious as she looked back at Nightmare.

“Monster!!! How dare you!” she shrieked, Luna marched towards him as well a fury on par with what she had as Nightmare Moon. Nightmare looked back and forth at Twilight then Luna, the fear growing in his face now.

“NO! I can’t die! I am the darkness of the dream realm! I am fear itself!!!” he shouted at the two mares. Luna glared and snapped back,

“No! You are nothing! And now we send you back to the oblivion from whence YOU CAME!!” With that Twilight and Luna’s horns both began to glow with magic and together the two blasted Nightmare from both sides his screams echoing throughout the throne room. Slowly his voice was finally drowned out and his body burned and crumbled to ash which vanished into the air. At long last, he was finally gone, Nightmare was dead. Luna quickly rushed to Sunset Shimmer and cradled her in her hooves.

“Sunset! Sunset! Wake up, wake up right now!” Luna said, a few seconds passed and Sunset slowly stared to open her eyes and looked up at Luna. A faint smile formed on her face, then she winced a little in pain before speaking up. “Hey...Mom...is it over? Oh man, I missed the end...Twi's never gonna let me live this down now...” she moaned, Luna looked at Sunset surprised then smiled back.

“Mom? Your really going to call me that already?” Luna asked, Sunset rested her head on Luna’s lap and closed her eyes smiling again.

“Oh come on...Twi gets to call Princess Celestia mom, but I gotta call you Princess Luna all the time? No fair...” Sunset groaned. Luna simply chuckled and nuzzled Sunset gently holding her softly against her lap. Twilight watched the two smiling happy to see Sunset was alright,

“Umm...Twilight? Why do you still have those?” Spike said, Twilight turned and looked at Spike and the others who were looking at her a little shocked. Twilight looked to see what Spike was talking about and she saw it, she still had wings! She was still an Alicorn! With everything that happened she hadn't noticed, but there they were and she could feel and move them just fine. Twilight started to hyperventilate she looked up at Celestia a look of panic growing in her eyes,

“Why? Why do I have wings?! No! No, no, no, no, NO!!” she shouted. Celestia walked over and put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder,

“Twilight, its alright. Just stay calm, we’ll figure this out I promise.” Celestia said. Twilight shook her head though still panicking,

“NO! I don’t want these!!! Not like this!!! I didn’t earn these!!! I don’t deserve them!!!” she shouted back, Twilight stepped back from Celestia and gripped one of her wings with her hoof and started to violently tug at it,

“Twilight stop! It’s okay, listen to me!!” Celestia pleaded, Twilight wasn’t listening though and suddenly she bit down on the wing before suddenly ripping a few feathers clean off.

“Twilight!! Stop! You’ll hurt yourself!!” Celestia shouted, Twilight continued to try and pull her wing off though. Then Cadence rushed over and hugged her tight finally stopping her, Twilight tried to get Cadence to let go of her pushing and squirming but she refused to let go. Finally Twilight stopped fighting and started to cry pressing her face to Cadence’s chest.

“I...I...didn’t want to get them like this...I don’t deserve to be an alicorn!” she sobbed. Cadence held her tight though and after a moment she rested her cheek against Twilight’s head.

“It’s okay Twilight, every thing is going to be okay now...” Cadence whispered.

Author's Note

:pinkiehappy: At long last Nightmare is defeated and Midnight Sparkle is gone. Hope everyone likes how that ended, my plan from the start was always Luna and Twilight would be the ones to destroy him. After all, they're the two he hurt the most. :twilightsmile:
Also had a lot of fun writing this chapter, actually had something different planned for Shining to threaten Twilight with originally. He WAS going to threaten to rearrange her books, but then I thought, no, its gotta be about that toy crown they love so much. :raritywink: Well next chapter should be the conclusion to the Nightmare Forces arc, unless I come up with more ideas. Hope you enjoyed the update, leave me some comments and maybe drop a like if you haven't already.

The Trap is Sprung

Cadence and Sweetie quickly made their way to the spa area of the resort, they walked inside and looked around eventually finding Celestia and Luna being pampered by the staff.

“Auntie! I need to talk to you about something.” Cadence announced as she approached, Celestia and Luna both looked up the two staff pausing and waiting for them to finish talking.

“Cadence? What’s wrong?” Celestia asked,

“You’re not here for the treatment too are you? You need to schedule in advance first Cadence.” Luna chuckled. Cadence sat down and looked at the staff before leaning in close to whisper to Celestia so no pony else could hear them talk. “I think there’s something going on here that we don’t know about. I need to talk to you and Aunt Luna okay?” she whispered. Celestia nodded even though she wasn’t quite sure what to think of Cadence’s behavior.

“Alright Cadence, just give us a minute and we’ll talk in the lobby alright?” Celestia replied.

Cadence shook her head though, “No...let’s go somewhere more private I think, back at our rooms maybe. I’ll take Sweetie and go look for Twilight and the others in the meantime.”. Celestia nodded in agreement watching Cadence and Sweetie leave a moment later. Celestia and Luna finished getting cleaned up and got up to leave, Luna was a bit annoyed they didn’t get to finish their appointment but she also understood Cadence was worried about something right now. As the two princesses reached the lobby though they were surprised to see Ms. Cinch was there with two other employees, she smiled and greeted them happily.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, I trust your enjoying the resort? No complaints I hope.” she asked.

“Oh no, we’ve been having lots of fun. Especially my family, we were just going to go and talk to my niece about something she was concerned about is all.” Celestia answered. Cinch smiled and put her hoof on Celestia’s shoulder,

“Well, if there is anything you might need please don’t hesitate to ask Indigo Zap. She’ll be sure to tell me right away and then we’ll make it right I assure you.” Cinch said as she looked back at the yellow pegasus in goggles behind her, she turned to leave and just she reached the door though Luna spoke.

“I thought your name was Sour Sweet?” Every pony in the room, Cinch included suddenly came to a dead stop. Indigo Zap looking back at Cinch with a look of panic and fear in her face now.

Cinch turned and glared angrily at her, “You little moron...now we’ll have to do this the hard way...”

Cadence and Sweetie made their way towards the river rafting course, Cadence hoped to find Twilight or any of the others before getting their but had no luck. Sunny Flare was at the entrance glancing through a book but looked up as the pink alicorn approached.

“Hello Princess, is there something I can help you with?” she asked.

“We were looking for Twilight, or any of the others. They said they were gonna do the river raft today, have you seen them?” Sweetie asked.

Sunny paused and scratched her chin thinking for a moment, “No, I can’t say I have...we had to close down the rafting course in fact due to a tree obstructing the river. They probably went someplace else I’d imagine.” Sunny said. Cadence and Sweetie looked at one another, but then started to walk away to go look elsewhere. As they walked Lemon Zest trot past them and over to Sunny Flare she leaned close and whispered to her quietly.

“Change of plans...we need to grab them all now.” Lemon said, Sunny Flare looked at her surprised watching as Cadence and Sweetie got farther away by the second.

“What happened? Why aren’t we doing the original plan?” she asked.

“Ocellus screwed up, used the wrong name for her disguise. The other Princesses figured it out, keep an eye on them while I get the others together.” Lemon said. Sunny nodded and began to follow Cadence and Sweetie Belle from a distance watching where they were heading.

Cadence walked with a brisk pace, the fact that she didn’t know where Twilight or the rest of her family was starting to make her worry.

“Cadence!” Cadence stopped and looked back realizing she’d been walking too fast for Sweetie to keep up with, the little filly ran up to her and stopped to catch her breath.

“I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, I guess being worried made me space out for a second. Here, let’s give this a try.” Cadence apologized as her horn glowed blue and she lifted Sweetie up setting her onto her back. Cadence readjusted her wings to hold Sweetie in place.

“You don’t have to carry me, just don’t walk so fast is all.” Sweetie said.

Cadence began to walk towards the arcade hoping to find Spike and Shining there at least, “Its alright Sweetie, I’m stronger than I look. Plus I really want to find every pony so we can figure out what exactly is going on right now...” Cadence explained. As Cadence walked she suddenly caught the faint smell of smoke in the air, she looked around and a saw a trail of smoke rising up over the buildings. Cadence paused to look and soon remembered that she was facing in the direction of the Spa where Celestia and Luna were and her concern suddenly began to increasingly grow more. Her pace quickened as she tried to make her way back to the spa to check on her family, soon however she came to face to face with Sugarcoat and another yellow mare with pink hair.

“Princess Cadence, is there something the matter? You seem flustered.” Sugarcoat asked, Cadence tried to walk past her to get to the spa but was cut off by the other mare.

“I’m sorry Princess, there was a small fire from a piece equipment breaking in that direction. I’m going to have to ask you go another direction.” Sugarcoat said. Sweetie wrapped her hooves around Cadence’s neck, she could feel that the little filly was getting nervous now.

“Well, I just want to go and check to see if my Aunts are okay is all. I won’t get in any ponies way. I promise.” Cadence said as she tried to walk past again but was stopped like before.

“Trust us Princess, everything’s just fine. Right, Sour Sweet?” Sugarcoat said looking at the mare standing beside her.

“Wait, you’re not Sour Sweet...we saw her at the nature trail.” Sweetie said. The two ponies in front of them both looking at them with surprise but then their expressions changed to anger, Cadence turned and tried to walk away the need to keep Sweetie Belle safe now her main priority. As she turned to leave though she realized they were suddenly surrounded on all sides by the resorts staff.

“Well I suppose the charade is well over now, no point in hiding anything.” Cadence and Sweetie Belle looked back to see Cinch slowly approach through the ponies surrounding them.

Cinch came to a stop in front of Cadence smiling as she did, “You see Cadence, were not the staff of the resort. In fact we’ve been here waiting for you all for some time, having the royal family all in one place would make it easy to replace them and then infiltrate Canterlot from within.” Cinch explained. Then one by one each pony around them changed in a flash of green magic into black, green eyed bug like creatures with ragged wings until the only pony left was Cinch herself who smiled before changing into a much larger bug like creature herself. She stood as tall as Celestia, her wings larger, holes in her legs, a blue stringy mane draping down over her back, and a black crown to show her status.

“We are the changelings Princess, and I am Queen Chrysalis...”

Author's Note

:pinkiehappy: Phew, almost forgot to post an update this month. Haven't been focusing enough on my fanfics lately since World of Warcraft has been consuming most of my free time as of late. But I'll try and be more attentive to my updates in the near future. Anyway finally get to the exciting part of the vacation arc as the Changelings have finally made their move. Hope some creature appreciates the name drop I did. Anyway you know the usual, leave a comment and let me know what you all think!

Twilight Captured

The entranceway to the garden exploded open as the Storm King’s forces came pouring in, the soldiers smashing and searching for Twilight. Following behind them all slowly was Tempest and Grubber. The bat ponies all fled in a panic trying to get away, Tempest looked around the town looking for any signs of Twilight.

“Defend the garden!!!” A voice shouted from above, Tempest looked up to see a group of bat ponies in armor led by Night Shade charging at the soldiers. The two groups collided fighting one another as Tempest and Grubber watched. Night Shade charged past all the soldiers and went straight for Tempest however, just as he was about to tackle the unicorn her horn sparked with magic and she blasted him to the ground. Night Shade fell hard and laid on his side dazed from the hit, before he could stand up he felt an armored hoof press him to the ground. He looked up to see Tempest pinning him to the ground,

“Where’s the princess? I know she’s here...talk.” she said. Night Shade grit his teeth in anger and snapped back at her,

“There’s no princess here! You’re wasting your time!” Tempest had enough, chasing Twilight across Equestria having tested her patience.

“Fine, have it your way...tear the town apart until you find her.” Tempest ordered her troops.

Twilight ran as fast she could to the entrance of the city, her friends following close behind. When she finally arrived she saw the bat ponies fighting with Tempest’s forces, then she looked past to see Tempest pinning Night Shade to the ground. Small blasts of magic arced off her horn zapping the stallion and making him scream in pain with each hit. Twilight gasped at the sight and charged forward shouting to Tempest,

“STOP!! Stop hurting them Tempest!!!” Tempest looked up at the sound of Twilight’s voice, and before she could get too close two of the soldiers grabbed the mare picking her up off the ground. Tempest’s gaze focused on Twilight as she walked past the wounded Night Shade and up to Twilight.

“There you are...are you going to run again? You won’t get away as easily this time.” Tempest said. Twilight looked past Tempest to Night Shade again, watching him clutch his chest and wince in pain. The slow realization that this was her fault hitting her hard it reminded her becoming Midnight Sparkle all over again. Twilight looked back to Tempest as she stopped in front of her.

“If I go without a fight, will you leave them alone? The bat ponies, my friends, just leave them alone! They aren’t the ones you want anyway!” Twilight begged.

“Twilight no!!!” a voice shouted, she looked back to see Pinkie and Applejack grab Sweetie Belle as she tried to run to her.

“Don’t do it Twilight! You’ve gotta save every pony back in Canterlot!” Sweetie shouted. Twilight looked at all of her friends and the frightened bat ponies all watching, and she grit her teeth knowing there wasn’t another option. She turned to look back at Tempest,

“I’ll go...without a fight, just leave them alone. Please.” she sobbed. Tempest glared back at Twilight and after a moment she turned and walked towards the entrance,

“We’re leaving, now…” she ordered.

Grubber turned and shouted to the soldiers with them, “Come on you lugs! Get a move on!” he stood and watched as the soldiers all followed Tempest carrying Twilight along with them.

Tempest walked out of the garden, her airship ominously floating over the canyon entrance. Twilight looked back at the garden seeing the mural with their history now damaged, the image of Luna smashed and cracked the doorway not in much better shape. Once they carried Twilight onto the airship they brought her into the lower bowels of the ship, the soldiers throwing her into a large metal cage and slammed the door shut. Tempest stood outside glaring back at Twilight,

“Get us back to Canterlot, and someone contact the King. We’ve finally have all four alicorns.” Tempest said. The engines of the airship rumbled to life and it lifted into the air, Twilight looked at Tempest who stood silently.

“Tempest, why do this? Your a pony just like me, what are you getting out of this?” she asked. Tempest’s gaze moved away from Twilight, her hoof reaching up to rub the scar over her eye. Twilight looked up at Tempest’s horn and then back to her face.

“Is that it? Is that what he promised you? Tempest, there’s no healing magic that can fix that. It’s not like healing an open wound, a broken horn is like a scar. You can’t heal a scar!” Twilight pleaded. Tempest glared back angrily at her words though,

“You know that?! For a fact? All the magic across all of Equestria and you know that there’s no magic that can't fix it? I find that hard to believe, Princess...You don’t have any idea what its been like having to live like I have. Every time I try to do something as simple as levitate an object all that happens is destruction. I’ve lost everything that you’ve taken for granted your whole life.” Tempest said as she walked up to the cage, she leaned towards Twilight magic sparking and flying out of her damaged horn.

“I’m going to get my horn BACK, and you, and all the other princesses are going to help whether you like it or not.” Tempest said before smacking the cage with her hoof and making Twilight flinch.

Back in the garden Applejack held onto Sweetie Belle as she tried to run after Twilight,

“Let go! They took Twilight, we’ve gotta go get her!!! Let go Applejack!” she shouted.

“Calm down now sugar cube, we’re gonna get Twilight back. But we can’t do it by ourselves.” Applejack said. Sweetie didn’t calm down much though still struggling to get away. Lullaby and Pennyworth walked up to Applejack,

“Who was that?! Why did she break in here just to take Twilight?!” Lullaby asked. Applejack looked back at Lullaby and saw all the scared bat ponies, the injured fighters, and lastly Night Shade still hurt. Applejack didn’t know what to say, she wasn’t sure how to not make this sound like it was Twilight’s fault.

“That was who has been chasing us!” Trixie shouted, every pony looked at the blue unicorn as she spoke up.

“That was Tempest Shadow, she works for the Storm King, who invaded Canterlot! She captured every creature there, turned the princesses to stone and now she HAS Twilight too!” Trixie explained.

A bat pony stood forward and suddenly spoke up, “You mean Twilight led them all here?” he asked. Gabby gave a small nudge to the pony, and answered.

“NO WAY! Twilight would never do something like that! She’s one of the nicest ponies ever, and she cares about her friends and family more than anything else!” Trixie stood up on all fours and walked up to the bat ponies,

“And we all came here hoping to get help, and right now we really need it. So please, will you help us all go save Twilight? And not just her, but every pony back in Canterlot?” Trixie asked. All the bat ponies stood silent though, nervously looking back and forth at one another, then Harvest Moon spoke up.

“You, you actually want us to leave the valley? We...we can’t do that! Its too dangerous out there, plus who knows what the other tribes will do if they see us again.” The other bat ponies had mixed reactions but enough agreed with Harvest that it was obvious they weren’t going to help right away. The sight of their hesitation only made Trixie’s blood boil though and her face turned red before she snapped back at them.

“FINE! Stay here then! Wait for your precious Mare of the Moon, or whoever to come tell you its safe to leave! But just remember that Twilight came here to ask for help and make friends with all of you, and she went with Tempest to keep you all safe!” Trixie then turned and began to march towards the exit but looked back at her friends one last time.

“Come on, every pony! We’ve got a friend to rescue!” Trixie announced. Twilight’s friends all cheered and rushed behind Trixie racing out of the garden.

Trixie and the others raced out of the garden and into the canyon, Sweetie clung to Gabby’s back as she flew up to look around for Tempest.

“There!” Gabby shouted as she pointed to the distance, Tempest’s airship was already on the horizon and moving away quickly. Trixie let out a frustrated groan seeing how much of a head start they had on them.

“Fluttershy, Gabby, can you catch up to them? Maybe slow them down?” Trixie asked. Fluttershy shook her head no,

“I’m sorry, I’m not a very good at flying. I don’t think I could.” she replied. Gabby landed and looked back at the ship,

“I don’t think I can either, I’m not that fast.” Gabby added.

Applejack spoke up quick though, “Well then we’ll just follow them back to Canterlot y’all! We already know where their heading, we’ll just save every pony at once!” Every pony happily agreed with Applejack just they turned to leave though a voice called out.

“Wait!!!” They paused and saw Lullaby flying up to them and landing,

“I wanna help too! Twilight’s my friend, and I don’t wanna lose her!” Lullaby said.

“Well then come on, let’s go save Twilight then!” Pinkie announced,

as they were about to run off though Lullaby spoke up again. “So what’s the plan? How are we gonna save her?” Every pony suddenly came to a stop, and looked around at one another.

“She’s right, we can’t just go charging in...Tempest probably has soldiers all over Canterlot by now…” Applejack said.

“So...what do we do?” Fluttershy asked. An uneasy silence fell over the group as they tried to think of a plan,

but then a new voice spoke up from above. “Sounds like you ponies could use some help.” They all looked up and saw a group of figures standing on the ledge above in the center a small and very familiar figure who leapt down to reveal himself. Sweetie Belle hopped off of Gabby and ran up hugging announcing his name,

“SPIKE!!!” A moment later the rest of figures hopped down revealing themselves as a group of Ornithian pirates, the ponies were a little surprised but Spike quickly put them at ease.

“Oh its okay guys, this is Captain Celaeno and her crew. And they’re here to help!”

Author's Note

:twilightblush: I really took too long to get this update out, kept putting it off over and over and then my job got the better of me. But I finally managed to sit down write it all out. :yay: And so we're finally heading towards the big finale of the Storm King arc, although next chapter will be a small buffer of sorts to show what Spike has been up to as promised. :moustache: After all, I wouldn't have been able to bring in Captain Celaeno if it wasn't for him and she was one my favorite characters in the movie. Hope you all enjoy the update, leave the usual like and/or comment and let me know what you think! :pinkiehappy: