Welcome to Discordtopia

Chapters

Chapter two: The Fall of Canterlot
Chapter Three: The Fairy Tale City of Trixieville
Chapter Four: Princess Trixie's Grand Show
Chapter Five: Escaping Trixieville
Chapter six: Twilight's Plan
Chapter Seven: Princess Trials
Chapter Nine: Dreams & Nightmares
Chapter Ten: The Rains of Harmony
Chapter Eleven: The Aftermath
Chapter Twelve: Changing Hearts and Minds
Chapter Thirteen: The End of the Journey
Chapter one: Escape from the Capital of Chaos
Chapter Eight: A House made of Plastic

Chapter two: The Fall of Canterlot

Down in the Library of Canterlot Palace, a bookish, orange-coated unicorn was busy in his study going over some odd messages and commands their newest ruler, Nightmare Moon, had sent [to the overburden newly designated 'royal archivist,' since the last one had somehow disappeared and he was pick picked for the tedious task].

Upon her ascension, through brutal subjugation, her highness preferred residing in the old castle in the Everfree Forest [some unamenable reasons; some said it was to satiate her need for sadisms while others thought it was for more nostalgic reasons]. At the same time, Canterlot was primarily used by her to hold court with the terrified nobles, wondering what she would do in her next tantrum. Yet, despite all her status and power, their ruler, her imperiousness highness, had seemed increasingly distressed as of late, more so than usual. Each day she'd return to the castle garden like clockwork to check on a particularly unusual statue within the garden of a chimeric creature. Supposedly it contained an ancient and powerful entity simply known as Discord. The stallion had been meaning to do some research on the supposed entity, but his recent workload had forced him to push that mission back. Though, now it seemed like he should've made the time.

As he finished his letter, his mind drifted back to the garden where the statue stood…or did as there was simply an empty pedestal. That proved sufficient cause for him to believe his queen's concerns were valid.

Once he noticed the statue was gone, he quickly notified the queen, whose response was far from pleasant. Yet, even now, he couldn't understand why.

The idea that Nightmare Moon would be scarred was laughable, seeing that she sent their former ruler, Princess Celestia, into the moon. So for there to be any creature, much less one she only saw fit to mention to him recently, to make her feel threatened seemed utterly ludicrous.

And yet, she was! Her last message was little more than a never-ending barrage of curses towards him, saying how much of a fool he was. In truth, though, it seemed more like she was shouting at herself.

It wasn't like he knew who this Discord was or why Nightmare Moon was so scared of him, but now there was a sense of dread that hung in the air. Whatever Nightmare Moon was frightened of was coming, and there was nothing he could do, save for coming through the archives for an answer.

As he prepared to turn a page into his current book sporting the dark blue armor of Nightmare, Moon's army burst into the room.

"Master Sunburst! Lady Nightmare Moon has been overthrown."

Sunburst felt his jaw and glasses practically drop at the declaration, unable to even entertain such an idea. Yet that slight sense of dread he'd felt early now seemed firmly validated.

"Overthrown? How? And how can you be sure?"

"I don't know! But the sun is out again! If that's the case, somepony must've defeated her! We're finally free!" The guard cheered, tossing his armor off and running down the hall loudly, whooping with his comrades.

He heard ponies shout and celebrate from within the castle, utterly jubilant at their sudden liberation. And in any other time, Sunburst would be just as thrilled as them, happy to no longer be under Nightmare Moon's tyrannical hoof. But knowing what he knew now, this celebration was to be short-lived.

With newfound urgency, Sunburst ran outside of Canterlot Castle. There he saw a crowd of ponies looking in relief, others in tears, all looking with unfiltered joy at the sun once again shining in the sky above. It'd been over a year since Nightmare Moon hid the sun, and many feared they'd never feel its warmth again.

So then, why was there also a sense of unease?

Princess Celestia had been sealed away on the moon, so she couldn't have defeated Nightmare Moon. Thus if not her, then who?

The sudden quandary brought silence to the crowd before some pointed upwards as pink clouds made of cotton candy, chocolate milk, and popcorn rained down on the ponies below.

Excitement became confusion as most of the regal ponies angrily screamed at the chocolate milk staining their fancy clothes. Meanwhile, some took it in stride, with several foals happily opening their mouths and allowing the treats to pour. Sunburst, however, ignored all of that, as his sense of dread was now back in full.

Something was very wrong, and everypony, whether they wanted to or not, could sense it. And it was then a loud, boisterous laugh started to echo from the sky.

All eyes looked to the sky as a figure seemed to slither and skulk from within the clouds before bursting outwards for all to see. His appearance left many a pony baffled, while Sunburst had to clean his glasses to ensure his vision was correct.

"It can't be…how?"

Flying high above Canterlot was the very same figure he'd seen in stone not a day ago, now looking very alive and happy about it.

Discord eyed the city below, his eye stretching from its socket like a telescope before making an screatchingnoise.

"Ugh, this is where Princess Sunbutt has been ruling all this time? It's so dull looking." With a casual spin, he was suddenly in some painter's outfit, complete with easel and beret. "I do believe we could all do with some color."

Rather than pull out a brush, Discord instead simply held out his free claw and snapped.

All around, buildings became circus tents, fancy chariots were turned into unicycles, and all the fancy clothes the ponies wore were transformed into baggy pants and gaudy outfits with giant colorful pommels. Their noses became big rubber balls of various colors, while their previously well-styled manes became comically colored afros.

As Discord marveled at his work, a legion of pegasi soldiers had zeroed in on him, spears and swords at the ready.

The Spirit of Chaos didn't even pay them a glance. Their weapons quickly became foam toys, their wings replaced with balloons, and armor turned into clown outfits, soon matching the ponies below.

With another snap, numerous tiny needles shattered the balloons, sending the screaming clowns below. Yet when they hit the ground below, they sank into it before popping back out of the now rubbery terrain.

The display proved the proverbial straw as the crowd began to disperse, running around screaming for what little good it could offer them.

Amidst the chaos, Sunburst could only stare on in shock and horror, unable to find the courage to even move, much less offer a hoof in aid.

"No wonder Nightmare Moon was so afraid of this…thing. How in Equestria can we stop him?"

"Oh, that's easy….you can't."

Sunburst's eyes practically burst from his glasses at the unfamiliar voice in his head, only to look up and find Discord playfully waving in his direction.

"Oh, and for the record, I'm not a thing… I'm more of a What or a How!"

The draconequus then, with a claw snap, teleported everypony in the courtyard to a giant circus tent, not sitting in the middle of the city.

The place was massive, with numerous ponies shoved into seats bound with brightly colored scarves. They all sat in their seats, awaiting what would happen.

A pair of spotlights immediately pointed to the center of the tent before a bright explosion revealed Discord, now clad in a red ringmaster's outfit. With the microphone in hand, he made a grand sweeping gesture to the entire audience. "Welcome, my little ponies! To the greatest show in Equestria! And for our opening act, I give you…Comedy is Night and Day."

A spotlight pointed up to the roof as a platform was lowered, revealing to the shock of all those in attendance Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, now dressed in clown outfits and on unicycles while being chased by lions.

The sudden surreal sight brought out a myriad of emotions in the audience. Shock, amazement, joy, horror, fear, and concern. Many were crying out and angrily shouting at the treatment of their beloved monarch Celestia, finally freed from her imprisonment. Meanwhile, Luna received few words of sympathy, many bitter over the oppression her alter ego had inflicted on them.

Many ponies (mostly former royal guards) wanted to storm the ring to rescue the Princess; even Sunburst contemplated taking some kind of action. Sadly any hope was immediately quashed as more scarves secured them firmly to the seat, their mouths now covered by large bags of popcorn.

"Now, now. It's rude to interrupt a performance after all," Discord spoke, his neck extending to where it was just over the audience. "So please, just sit back, have some popcorn and enjoy the show. It's been a long time coming, and I'd hate to see it end so soon."

No pony attempted to stand up again, humbled by how effortlessly he'd managed to stop them all. This moment of clarity also firmly had them realize how outmatched they were. Nightmare Moon had effectively conquered Equestria and quashed any attempted rebellion in mere moments. Only Celestia had the power to match her, yet here they were, little more than Discord's playthings.

If they couldn't stop him, what chance did anypony else have?

That train of thought was playing in Sunburst's mind on loop, keeping him firmly stuck in his chair. Even though he was bound and gagged, it didn't matter; even with every limb free, he held no illusions about walking free or attempting anything.

All he could do was sit in silence as the two most potent ponies in all of Equestria were made into complete fools to amuse their new tyrant.

Weeks had gone by, and things had little to no change. Sunburst somehow remained out of sight and out of mind in his former home, now a dingy circus booth filled with balloons, rubber chickens, and confetti.

Honestly, if it weren't for the sheer horror of the situation, Sunburst would ask Discord to change themes. The circus gimmick had long worn out its welcome. Though that also brought up a rather curious point.

Despite the circus-themed paint job Discord had given Canterlot, he was untouched for some reason. His hair was still the same, with no extra frills or bowties to his attire and his nose wasn't rubber. Almost like Discord's magic just missed him for some reason.

Sunburst slowly raised his head, hearing the pit-pat of chocolate milk raining down onto the tent's canopy. He slowly poked his head out of the tent and filled it up with a cup in hoof.

As he waited, he looked around the streets, seeing the various other circus tents and carnival booths. After several weeks of this state, ponies were now playing the games out of boredom, any sense of panic having long been worn out. Yet there was also something unsettling about the situation. Many ponies were now throwing pies at each other and making bad jokes. As if the makeup and costumes were affecting their minds.

Sunburst's eyes narrowed, already knowing the culprit. Chaos Magic.

A glance in his tent directed his gaze to a small stack of books, the only ones he was able to save from the Canterlot Library. Lucky for him, he could finally look up some information on Discord. More specifically, his Chaotic brand of magic only ended up making him feel more useless.

Pulling back his now-filled cup, he sat and picked up a tofu dog covered in mustard and ketchup. Watching and eating was about all he could do at this point.

True he was a knowledgeable scholar regarding magic, but his practical aptitude was sadly lacking. Then again, Discord's magic was beyond anything he'd seen! The creature could warp reality without any defined limit, ignoring all natural and magical laws with terrifying ease. It was a miracle Sunburst hadn't lost his mind at such a revelation.

The poor pony could only glance at his tent, basically a brightly colored prison cell, and bemoan his own helplessness. At this point, what else could he do but sit and wait for something to happen?

"Well, I'm always up for offering somepony advice. Might I suggest loosening up and having some fun?"

Sunburst practically jumped as a pair of eyes were now staring at him from his wall, with Discord himself slithering out. "Hello there! Sorry to interrupt mid-mental monologue, but I wasn't sure if I missed somepony during my little clown show? Also, your feedback on the whole overuse of the circus theme is very appreciated."

A scroll suddenly appeared in thin air with various words written under a large title that read Themes.

"I was planning to change things to keep it fresh, you know?" Discord looked the list over with a pair of oversized reading glasses. "Tell me, what sounds more appealing, comic superheroes or pirates? I don't know why but I feel like I can get a lot more out of the latter."

Sunburst cried out in horror and scurried to the back of the tent with a look of fear in his eyes.

Casting the list aside, Discord rolled his eyes at the sudden panic. "Oh, would you relax? If I wanted to, you'd be a clown and join the princesses with the lions. I merely came to get a better look at you. It's not often I find somepony seemingly immune to my magic."

Sunburst lay there in terror, shaking as he asked, "So…if you're not going to torture me? What will you do to me?"

Discord didn't answer; he snapped a claw, and Sunburst was placed in a classroom. The place was rather mad looking, with countless posters of the man spirit on the walls, while books, chalk sticks, rulers, and other items just floated around the room. Sitting beside him were a violet-coated unicorn mare and an unnamed, arrogant-looking blue unicorn.

There they sat with Discord at the front of the classroom." Welcome to Discord's School of Chaos Magic. For those not in the know, I have taken over Equestria, but I'm not a ruler. Frankly, I find the idea of ruling anything too much of a chore, so I thought it'd be more productive…and fun, to find somepony to help me deal with all the management nonsense."

The violet unicorn then raised a hoof as Discord pointed to her and asked, "Yes, Twilight?"

"Um….so you said you'll teach us how to use Chaos Magic? But I have to ask, why?

The Lord of Chaos tapped a claw on her head. "It's simple, really; I need you to keep the ponies from rebelling or trying to ruin the fun! Understand? I think you three have the potential to keep the chaos going, and thus I'll teach you how to wield Chaos <!"

Then with a whisk of a claw, he had a squarish graduation cap on and a cloak as he proclaimed, "Now for your first lesson, we shall begin by turning a chicken back to an egg!"

"Yes, Discord," the two other ponies said eagerly, while Sunburst almost mumbled his response.

Discord gave them all a stern look and snapped, "Oh come now, don't you see my hat? Call me Professor Discord."

"Yes, Professor Discord!" Everypony shouted once more in a much more terrified tone.

"Now, shall we begin the class?" He chimed as he swished off a stick, summoning a scared-looking chicken in his claw.

A year later…

A year had passed since Discord had taken over, and things hadn't been looking suitable for Sunburst, now sporting a white dunce cap and sitting in the back of his class. The stallion looked much more pathetic than his classmates as he was still trying to put the chicken on his desk back to an egg, with his horn sputtering to manipulate the Chaos Magic.

"Oh, Sunburst!? Still on square one!? Look at your other classmates!" Discord laughed as he pointed across the classroom. The stallion saw that Twilight and the other student, Trixie, both had pink T-Rexs, wearing silly dresses and tiaras while having a tea party.

The proud instructor merely chuckled at the display, which turned to disappointment when looking at Sunburst. "I guess I was wrong about you? I figured you had some magical potential, but it seems you're much duller than your name suggests."

Then with a snap of a claw Sunburst was suddenly dressed in face paint, with black triangles painted over his eyes, now dressed in a bright white suit with poofy black buttons.

"There, a dull costume for your dull personality!" The malicious spirit laughed out loud before snapping Sunburst away, sending him back to Canterlot.

The poor stallion's mood now matched his face, barely acknowledging how more unstable things had gotten in Canterlot since he'd been gone. Now ponies were slamming pies in their faces, engaging in more painful-looking jokes, and some even just laughing at others' misery.

"Hey, check out this sad sack over here."

"Aww, it's a sad clown. What say we put a smile on his face!"

Soon dozens of the clowns started to toss pies and water balloons filled with paint in his direction, utterly drenching his once white costume in a collage of colors.

Not wanting to stick around for more, Sunburst sprinted down the streets, trying to escape the mob chasing him, but the more he ran, the more clowns gathered to throw stuff at him. He feared they would keep chasing him until tofu dogs and chocolate milk suddenly started raining from the sky.
The mob stopped midway in their chase as the ponies began to gorge on food or lap the chocolate milk off the streets. Sunburst could only watch the insanity before him, their crazed faces making it clear any prior sanity they might've had was long gone at this point.

It seemed as though Sunburst was probably the last sane pony in Canterlot.

"There's the dunce!"

"Twilight!?" Sunburst cried out as he turned to see Discord's favorite student standing over him. With a playful smirk, the unicorn was wearing a top hat and cloak and twirled about in her new outfit." Like it? Discord proclaimed me as his second in command!"

"Congratulations," Sunburst squeaked as he lowered his head, somewhat scared of Twilight. During their time together, she was the most proficient with Chaos Magic and the cruelest. Her ceaseless hunger for more knowledge quickly made her Discord's favorite student, with Sunburst dreading what she'd do with such power.

Twilight threw a hoof over her cloak and laughed. "Pathetic as always, Sunburst! Well, not to worry, I'll cheer you up. It's time for my first show, and you'll have a front-row seat to see how chaos magic is supposed to be wielded!"

Sunburst could do nothing as she lit her horn, and soon the two were teleported back to the big top. Discord then appeared in the middle of the ring alongside Twilight as he threw a claw.

"Hello, my fellow clowns! Today I have a special treat for you. I'd like to present my second in command and standing ruler of Canterlot…Twilight Sparkle!"

The crowd cheered as Twilight appeared in a puff of smoke on top of a pedestal floating over them, bowing and preening under admiration. "Hello, my subjects! Tonight will be special as Discord and I torture…I mean perform alongside the former princesses! This will be a night you won't ever forget!"

Sunburst paused, hoping the crowd would reject this at the very least, but many continued to cheer. Above them, the two former rulers attempted to ride unicycles across a tight rope. This alone, without a safety net, would've been treacherous enough. Still, Discord, or possibly Twilight, saw fit to add in a large pool of water, filled to the brim with sharks.

The demented audience only continued to jeer at the Princess's predicament, the Chaos Magic having warped their mind to be as insane and somewhat cruel as Discord.

As the Princesses attempted to cross, both Discord and Twilight began hurling random objects at them, pies, water balloons, and a kitchen sink at one point. It wasn't too long before the audience joined in.

Sunburst just sat back and watched in horror, throwing his hooves over his eyes, hating himself, even more, wishing he could do something to stop this! But again, he knew he would be on a unicycle with them if he tried anything. Despite knowing that none of this was his fault, he was torn up inside as he desired nothing more than to seal Twilight and Discord into stone. But he didn't have the power or the ability to do anything. All he could do was endure and hope that he might one day stop this cruelty.

Present day

Sunburst was now sitting alone in his booth, looking more depressed than he had when this whole mess started. He had his head lowered into his There was little to nothing he could do presently. The only positive was that everypony else had long grown tired of harassing him.

Since returning to Canterlot (or what's left of it), he's been doing his best to avoid the other ponies. At this point, he would simply look up at the sky and watch each day pass slowly, hoping that someday, things could return to normal.

Fate, it seemed, saw fit to throw him a bone as there was a clamor of voices near his home. Completely out of nowhere, Princess Celestia and Luna rode right into his tent on unicycles. He was shocked by their appearance as they looked worn out and scared with their manes a mess, and they were both covered in dirt and on edge.

"Um…he…hello?" Sunburst stammered in an unsure tone, wondering why they were here and whether they were just as crazy as the rest of the town.

"Apologies, sorry we didn't see you there," Celestia responded with a sheepish smile despite her ragged appearance.

Luna was far less friendly, aiming her horn at him, and snapped, "Who are you!?"

Sunburst squealed, scrambling to hold his hooves up in surrender." Wait, I'm not a minion of Discord! In fact, I mostly just stay in here and mope around! I swear!"

The princesses eyed him before Celestia pushed her sister's horn away. "Sister, he doesn't look like the others. I think we can trust him."

"Sister, we can't take the chance. If we're caught now, who knows what Twilight will do to us! We can't take the risk!"

As the two continued to debate, Starlight came forward, finally looking at the one they were arguing over with immense shock. "S…Sunburst, is that you!?"

The stallion turned to face the light pink-coated unicorn. He knew the pony from somewhere, but his mind was fuzzy, having endured so much insanity for the past year. The stallion gulped and said, "Y…yes, and who are you?"

The unicorn mare slowly came up and gently placed a hoof on her chest., "It's me, Starlight Glimmer! You don't recognize me!?"

Sunburst blinked, then gasped as his mind was flooded with memories, remembering his old childhood friend. "Starlight!? What are you doing here?"

The recognition brought a smile to Starlight's face as she opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, then paused, seeming to go silent. "It's a long story."

She then helped Sunburst up on all four hooves and dusted some dirt off his outfit. "Let's catch up, but we need to find a way out of here first."

"Ye…yeah!?" Sunburst blurted out, being somewhat taken aback by everything happening at once. But the truth was, at the moment, he wasn't sure how to help. By the princesses' heavy breathing, he could see they were somewhat exhausted, so asking them to keep moving was unlikely.

Meanwhile, Starlight was talking to a skunk about going the way they came, but the small critter shook its head..and started talking.

"The way we came sounds reasonable, it's true. But Twilight will be expecting us and will probably plant a trap for you."

"Well then, what do we do!? We can't just sit here! Twilight's show could be ending any minute!"

Ignoring the talking animal for the moment, Sunburst tapped a hoof to his chin, pondering on anything that could help. That's when a memory came into his mind, and he gasped." Wait! I know of a portal!"

"Portal!?" Everypony asked, turning towards Sunburst.

"Yes, just come follow me!" Sunburst exclaimed as he took by her hoof. "We have to go now while Twilight is distracted!"

The rest of the ponies looked at each other as if they were unsure. Celestia turned towards her sister and whispered something as Luna shook her head and mumbled something back. Eventually, the argument led the Princess of the Night to shift her attention toward Sunburst, snapping, "Fine, we'll trust you, but this better not be a trap!"

"It's not, I swear! Please I…I just want to help end this insanity!" Sunburst cried, managing to not cower before the angry monarch.

"Ok, Sunburst, I trust you," Celestia replied, once again trying to quell her angry sister before the group exited the tent and started heading down the road. But that was when they were suddenly being chased by pegasus guards riding on their unicycles.

"They caught onto us!" Luna shouted, "I told you this clown sold us out!"

"Stop it, sister! They just followed us here, stop fighting and peddle!" Celestia cried out as the princesses tried to peddle away from their former guards.

The group quickly attempted to flee, yet a quick glance could see they were moving practically at a snail's pace. Sunburst could already tell the others were exhausted from the chase. It would be mere moments before they were overtaken. If they wanted to escape, someone needed to do something, and to his chagrin, he was the only option.

Halting his run, the stallion tried to face the pegasi soldiers gaining on them! If there was any moment he needed to use Chaos Magic, it was now! Throwing any caution to the wind, the stallion attempted to ignite his horn. He gasped as Chaos Magic swarmed around him. His magic started to swirl, and crackle as buckets of water appeared over two pegasi soldiers and dumped their contents on top of them, making them slide into each other. Big red rubber shoes then appeared on others, causing two other former guards to fall onto each other. The other ponies were astonished at Sunburst's power, and the stallion started to feel rather proud before they resumed their escape.

They then stopped near a sewer grate where Sunburst and Starlight lifted the giant iron seal up in the air and tossed it aside. They then all slowly clambered down into the depths of the sewer below.

The group took a moment to catch their breath as they had time to collect themselves. Zecora hopped onto Princess Celestia's back while Sunburst and Starlight took time to check each other for injury as the princesses did the same.

"Well, now what?" Luna asked while eyeing Sunburst, less suspicious of him, but that didn't mean she fully trusted him.

Taking the initiative, Sunburst stood up, his white suit now stained brown, as he was nearly covered in chocolate milk, and pointed a hoof down the sewer. "The portal is in this direction. Follow me."

Luna shook her head, and even Princess Celestia was hesitant, seeing they were ankle-deep in likely filthy chocolate milk.

Undaunted, Starlight opted to take the reins. "Look, I know you two are unsure if you can trust him, but Sunburst was my best friend. Yes, he's a coward and can be a wet blanket…."

Sunburst got a little peeved at these comments, but Starlight continued, "but that doesn't mean he's a liar; I know he's a trustworthy pony. And right now, we don't exactly have the luxury of time, so we need to get moving."

This time Princess Celestia was hesitant, but Luna turned toward her sister and said, "I don't still don't completely trust this Sunburst, but Starlight freed us and got us this far. I'll trust her judgment of him."

"Right…" Celestia stammered before the two princesses, a skunk, Starlight, and Sunburst, started their slow trek through the raging chocolate river.

As the group trudged through the river of liquid ice cream, Sunburst was feeling nervous. While he was honest about the portal, having seen it many times himself, he had no clue if it was still present, which he hoped was the case. If not, Celestia knows what Luna will do to him.

The group eventually came up through a fountain of chocolate milk, all dripping in the sugary beverage and welcoming the fresh air.

Tsun was now gone, and the moon was shining directly overhead. The ponies were now looking in a hedge maze with countless creatures in stone.

Sunburst bent his head as they slowly trotted through the garden full of statues with Tirek, Chrysalis, and many changelings. The ponies were taken aback by the cruelty put on display. What was more disturbing was that there were many ponies, all with "rebel" printed on their pedestals.

Some Sunburst recognized most notably Fancy Pants, who'd similarly resisted Discord's initial magic attack. Others included several of the Wonderbolts like Spitfire and many prominent ponies like Raven Inkwell.

It was quite a sobering sight, yet they slowly made their way to the middle of the garden. There they spotted a seemingly ordinary-looking vanity mirror. However, the mirror was not alone, as a massive purple dragon was sleeping just a few yards away.

Oddly enough, despite the creature being rather terrifying and huge, there was something off about it, with it sucking on its thumb while wearing a bib around its neck. It even had a rather large in its left claw.

Odd it not, it left the group with even more questions than before.

"Well, we found it, but where does this portal lead to, and what is that creature?" Luna growled under her breath, already dreading having to possibly fight a dragon.

Sunburst looked downward as this was where he wasn't sure. And said, "I honestly have no idea, I've never entered it before, and I'm just as clueless about the dragon. However, don't know where this portal leads or what this dragon is who guards it. But I can tell you that Twilight has her family living in the land on the other side shown."

Celestia paused, the name ringing a bell somewhere. "I know her family a bit; my former captain of the guard, Shining Armor, was her brother."

"Yes, he's in there, along with her parents and sister-in-law princess Cadance."

"My niece!" Celestia practically shouted, causing the dragon to shake briefly, causing them all to sweat and sigh when it continued to sleep.

The ponies all looked at each other and were now unsure of what to do. Still, Sunburst felt much more confident and whispered, "Listen, I'll distract the dragon, he may look intimidating, but he's really just a hatchling Twilight grew up with magic. I can distract him while you slip past."

The others were astonished at what Sunburst said, except for Starlight, who looked close to having a panic attack." No, we're not leaving you behind; if you're caught by Twilight…Faust knows what she'll do to you. I'm not leaving you behind."

Sunburst stood there, considering what Starlight said. She had a point; he was effectively risking his life no matter what happened. Either the dragon crushed him, or Twilight got to torture him for all eternity. Neither option was promising for him. But then he thought about all the ponies suffering, trapped in a never-ending state of madness and lunacy. All the anger and frustration of just sitting back as Discord turned the world into a living hell began to boil up inside him. That was all the incentive he needed.

"You're right, either way, I'm doomed, but I'm okay with it. My life doesn't matter when up against everypony in Equestria. If we can stop him, then we have to take the risk."

This time, Princess Celestia stepped in, unwilling to let yet another of her beloved subjects suffer. "No, there has to be another way."

"There is no other way; if you two don't escape, then there's no hope!" Sunburst cried as he got up and turned towards the giant purple dragon before he stopped for a moment.

"Oh, Starlight, I'm sorry I left you behind when I got my Cutie Mark. I'm glad I could see you again, one last time."

Starlight was rendered speechless, eyes welling up as she moved to stop him, only for the pony to charge outwards, making as much noise as he could muster. back

The dragon finally stirred; now awake and turning creature blinked as it turned its massive head towards him. Spotting Sunburst, the dragon roared, grabbing its enormous rattle and wielding it like a mace club.

Not even bothering to take cover, Sunburst closed his eyes and lit his horn, allowing the Chaos MagicMmagic around him to flow.

The dragon, undeterred, prepared to bring the massive melee weapon down upon the pony. Still, then a pacifier suddenly appeared in the creature's mouth. The dragon looked confused as it dropped its rattle with a thud as he continued to have the pacifier bob up and down in his mouth.

Upon seeing the beast was sufficiently distracted from what it was sucking on, Sunburst couldn't help but see it was a massive diamond in his mouth. The dragon seemed engrossed in its mouth as he slowly laid back down with this relaxed look in its eyes.

Sunburst actually looked. Sunburst was somewhat astonished at his ability to wield chaos magic, wondering where it was all coming from suddenly. But that ended when somepony practically dragged him by his collar. Hugged on his hoof, he turned to see Starlight pulling him towards the portal. as she shouted,

"Come on! The princesses have escaped, and he's distracted!"

Not even giving him a chance to get on his feet, Starlight charged through the portal with her friend to do whatever unknown world awaited them. She then pulled him through the portal, following after the princesses.

Chapter Three: The Fairy Tale City of Trixieville

Sunburst, Starlight, Zecora, and the princesses all landed in what appeared to be a large field of grass.

Getting over the initial shock from the drop, the group slowly got up on their hooves and saw that they were surrounded by castles and towers.

The sudden reprieve proved brief as a sizable group of soldiers trotted over, quickly using their spears to surround and trap the group.

There was a sense of tension in the air as they all looked to see the head of the soldiers slowly trotting towards them, revealing himself to be a white-coated unicorn with a long, wavy blue mane. The stallion appeared rather stern and seemed to be cautious of strangers. Though that persona crumbled upon seeing Princess Celestia, practically dropping to his knees in shock.

"Princess Celestia! You're alive!"

The former princess, while the others looked stunned Celestia gently smiled at the unicorn."Yes, I am. It's good to see you're doing well, Shining Armor."

"Sister, you know this pony?" Luna eyed Shining Armor cautiously, tempted to fire a blast of magic if he so much as twitched.

"Yes, he was my former captain of the guard and one of the bravest ponies I had the honor of knowing," Celestia looked upon the young stallion with pride, a sense of her previous regality returning, if only for that moment.

Shining Armor lowered his head with a sheepish look and sighed. "Yes, I was, but I sadly serve another princess now."

Celestia felt her heart sting, knowing fully who he spoke of, which certainly put a damper on things. Still, she took some comfort in knowing he was at least alive and not a mindless clown.

"I understand. Things have become quite crazy since Nightmare Moon's takeover, but where will you take us?"

The former captain of the guard finally stood up, quietly signaling his soldiers to lower their weapons."For now, I'll take you to my parents' house and ask our princess what she wants to do with you. So long as you cooperate, no harm will come to you."

None amongst the group attempted to refuse, hardly sensible given the many blades pointed their way. Thus they allowed the former captain to escort the ponies through the fields.

Curiously enough, the scenery was rather stunning despite the land being altered by Chaos Magic. As they walked, Celestia couldn’t help but keep pace with Shining Armor, looking upon her former subordinate with nostalgia.“You have no idea how good it is to see a friendly face. And we do appreciate what you are doing for us."

Shining Armor bowed and said, "Anything for you, your majesty."

The former princess's cheeks flushed a light, seeing she hadn't been called that in over a year. In some ways, it was rather a relief to the alicorn as she always viewed the status as something bestowed upon her and not so much something she saw herself as and always felt it greatly hindered many of her relationships. That was why she always valued Shining Armor’s companionship, as despite their relationship mostly being professional, she considered him a friend.

"Please, you don't have to call me that anymore; just call me Celestia."

Slightly embarrassed, Shining Armor rubbed the back of his neck as he apologized. "Sorry, it's a force of habit."

As the group continued to trot, a burning question remained unanswered to Celestia: who was Shining serving now under Discord’s rule?

“Shining, what happened to you and your soldiers? I haven’t seen you since Discord’s return, and I find it odd he’d even feel the need to leave anypony, much fewer soldiers, unaffected by his magic.”

Shining Armor gave a long exasperated sigh as he explained, "After your defeat by the hooves of Nightmare Moon, I gathered most of the royal guard and fled. We decided to stake out in Ponyville and tried to lay low. My soldiers and I knew we didn't have the power to take on Nightmare Moon. But, we assumed that some pony powerful enough could eventually defeat her. If nothing else, we hoped to support them when they arose.”

Shining Armor took a minute to pause in his story as Celestia seemed to feel rather ashamed once more, as it was due to her inability to stop Nightmare Moon that led to Discord’s rule. “We don’t blame you for what happened?”

“Regardless, it was my duty to protect ponykind, and I failed in that,” Celestia mumbled to herself as she turned to her sister, trotting beside her looking just as guilty but not saying anything.

Shining Armor then decided to continue. “Well, it’s not all bad, in a manner of speaking anyway. When Discord gave the new princess the right to rule here, we assumed she’d be another sycophant, but she’s e."

Luna and Celestia gave each other hopeful looks, slightly praying that whoever this new princess was could be the key to taking Discord down.

They then trotted through the strange world, seeing a giant purple rainbow overhead with a glittering city in the distance filled with violet. Luna asked, "So…did Discord do this?"

Shining Armor made a gagging noise as he rolled his eyes. "No, our "princess" has turned this place into her own vision of what Equestria should be, and it's not too bad…as long as you don't anger her."

The ponies all gave worried looks, unsure if meeting this other "princess" would provide another ally or enemy to confront.

As the group finally entered the border of Ponyville, they came upon a fairy tale-looking palace. It was rather small and quaint, yet with a hint of luxury going by the glittering gold moat and some fancy towers jutting outward.

Hesitantly, they then crossed a small bridge across the moat, what appeared to be a sea monster beneath the waves. Surprisingly he happily waved at Shining Armor, who waved back.

Deciding to ignore that odd display, they finally approached the front door, where the commander gave a firm knock and waited for them to swing open. The pair were greeted by Night Light and Twilight Velvet.

The pony parents stared aghast at the pair of former princesses, eyes only shifting to the visibly exasperated Shining to signal they were paying attention. "Hey, Mom, Dad. I need to leave these ponies here with you. Would that be ok?"

"Of course," Shining Armor's parents stammered in unison as the group entered the main hall. There they saw a hearth full of family pictures. Celestia felt somewhat stunned seeing pictures of Twilight as a filly and how different she looked before her new ascension. It was like looking at a window at a time when she could’ve done something to prevent what was happening now. Sadly, that was no longer the case.

"So… you're Princess Celestia, correct?" Twilight Velvet asked, seeming somewhat confused by her rather gaudy attire.

Princess Celestia saw little time to address her subjects about the changes throughout the kingdom. ”Yes, I am, and this is my sister Luna.” The Princess of the Night awkwardly waved at the pair, still a little new to social interaction. "Hello! We apologize for our attire; we were cursed by Discord, after all."

The attempt at humor fell utterly flat, both ponies looking less than thrilled to see the Second Princess. The wounds from her time as Nightmare Moon are still quite fresh, leaving the Princess to wish she could return to the moon. Meanwhile, Celestia awkwardly cleared her throat, attempting to ease the tension somewhat. "Trust me; Luna knows what she did as Nightmare Moon was wrong and is trying to make up for it. We aim to overthrow Discord and hopefully return Equestria to how it was.

Luna shook her head as she held up a hoof and placed it over her chest. “As much as I thank my sister for defending me, I have to take full responsibility for my own actions. I swear I’m doing everything I can to take down Discord as well. Still, I will accept your scorn willingly if you wish to despise me. I certainly deserve more.”

Night Light and Twilight Velvet seemed to relax a little as Celestia trotted over to the rest of the group as introduced them individually. “Moving on to everypony else. This is Sunburst, Starlight, and the talking skunk here is Zecora."

That proved the true cure for the situation as Twilight Velvet suddenly dawwed before trotting over to the skunk and booped her in the nose. “Oh, she’s adorable.”

Zecora put her paws on her hips and snapped, "A skunk I may be, but I still have my dignity!"

That only earned her another squeal and boop from Velvet, finding the rhyming only added to her adorable air.

Starlight gave a loud, obnoxious yawn as she tugged on Sunburst and asked, "Why don't we go upstairs? I'm exhausted from our near-death experience."

Sunburst was rather surprised by Starlight and gave a nod, but before he could even say anything, he was dragged upstairs by the mare, with Luna gazing up at the two with a suspicious look. Having an idea of what exactly the pair might be up to, Celestia nuzzled her sister as she tried to get her to ease up a bit, seeing this was the first time they'd have peace and quiet in years. Might as well enjoy the reprieve while they can.

Shining Armor then turned his attention to Celestia, offering the former ruler a curt bow."Please excuse me, but I must attend to the new princess I serve and inform her of your arrival."

"Of course, please let her know we come in peace and we are seeking aid. If she isn't with Discord, we could use her help to find a way to combat him."

Hopefully, despite the picture Shining had painted, Celestia couldn’t help but hope the princess would at least be willing to hear them out.

"Yes, I will; be patient, please, relax. There's plenty of food, and if you need to sleep, there are extra rooms on the second floor."

Offering the princess one last bow, Shining exited the house, his soldiers following suit, leaving the group alone with his parents.

Princess Celestia could almost cry as she hadn't received this level of hospitality in years. But she held herself together as she soon met this new princess and had to be ready.

Deciding to take advantage of things for the moment, Celestia quietly sat on a nearby couch, signaling Luna to follow suit. Both felt an immediate sense of relief course through them, practically sinking into the soft cushions, almost forgetting all they’d been through up to this point.

Celestia, however, kept enough of her composure to pose a question she’d had since they arrived. "So…I assume Twilight worked out a deal to have you live here?"

The two both nodded solemnly, Twilight Velvet's eyes practically bursting at the seam with tears. "My poor baby has turned into a monster."

She started to wail as Celestia gave her a colorful handkerchief that seemed to continue until it was a mile-long rope of colorful cloth. Although the somewhat somber mood from before had returned, the silly antics of the princesses, unintended as they were, made the middle-aged ponies smile again.

After wiping away the tears, Twilight Velvet regained the same serious look she’d given Luna, though now directed at Celestia. "Since we’re going to be together for a while, I do hope you’ll forgive my bluntness Princess, but I have to ask. Why didn't you accept our daughter into your school?"

Celestia looked down, having already anticipated the question. On some level, she wanted to argue it was simply an unfortunate circumstance of the time. Yet, looking at how things had changed, it was clear how poorly that decision had panned out, and even if she lacked the power to see into the future, surely there must have been some sign she missed regarding Twilight’s potential.

"I doubt there is anything I can say that won’t sound like an excuse. Even so, I can’t imagine how the administrators could possibly have misjudged your daughter’s amazing talent.”

Celestia tried to rack her brain back to the initial meeting she’d had with the young unicorn prodigy, and finally, a crucial detail came to light. “Tell me something when she was a filly; I seem to recall something was holding her back during the initial tryouts."

Night Light paused. "We always knew she had the talent, she studied magic virtually everyday and that’s why we signed her up for the exam. But it was as if something had gone wrong!? Like she had stage fright, we could never figure it out."

Luna eyed her sister curiously as more information was revealed. "Sister, you knew I would return as Nightmare Moon and Discord might break free!? You didn't have any pony that could use the Elements of Harmony?"

Celestia took a hoof over her face and sighed, "Sadly, no, there were a few candidates who sadly failed, and I was losing hope. I thought I could take you on and convince you to stop being Nightmare Moon on my own…but that obviously didn't work out. Perhaps had I not been so quick to give up, perhaps I could’ve prevented all of this. "

The two princesses both became relatively silent as they sipped their tea, as Luna contemplated what they’d learned. "Starlight Glimmer said she is from a timeline where none of this happened? If that's the case, something may have caused our timeline to split."

“Yes, she’d mentioned her version of Twilight was my most prized pupil,” Celestia muttered somewhat while sipping her tea.

Twilight Velvet practically lept from her seat, almost jolting the princess pair."So you're saying our baby isn't a monster!?"

Celestia wanted to speak in the affirmative but knew it wasn’t that simple. Ever the blunt one, Luna decided to say what needed to be said. “Unfortunately, while I don’t doubt your daughter is or was capable of great compassion for all of ponykind, I’m afraid, as it stands, she’s as much a monster as you believe.”

Celestia quickly chimed in to soften the blow as she saw the emotional devastation on the parents' faces. “But it doesn’t have to be that way; if we can determine where our timeline’s split off, we can correct the problem and ensure your daughter becomes the hero she was always meant to be.”

That brought a small amount of comfort, but not enough to keep Twilight Velvet from bawling into her husband’s embrace, bemoaning her own failure as a parent. The sight only served to harden both princesses' resolve.

“No matter what happens, we must fix this timeline.”

Meanwhile, Sunburst was led upstairs, where he and Starlight went to an empty bedroom. There Starlight quickly slammed the door behind her, with the stallion looking somewhat surprised. "Starlight, what's going on?"

The mare gave a long-exasperated sigh, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew Sunburst would do anything for her but didn’t know how much she should tell him. Starlight decided she’ll start slow and see how much her friend could take.

"Look, I…I need you to promise me something. I'll tell you a lot about myself and what's been happening to me. But you have to swear you can't tell the princesses or any pony else, understand?"

Sunburst wanted to argue against keeping secrets but nodded regardless as Starlight waved a hoof over her mane. "Ok, a few days ago, I went back in time using a forbidden time spell to stop Twilight."

"Ok…what does that have to do with anything?" Sunburst asked while scratching the back of his mane, while silently freaking out that his friend had somehow cracked time travel.

Starlight groaned as she threw a hoof down her face, "Trust me, it sounds crazy, but the Twilight you know was supposed to be the wielder of the Element of Magic. She and her friends used it along with the other Elements of Harmony to save Equestria from numerous threats for years….or at least that’s what was supposed to happen until I…messed things up a bit.”

"Wait!?” Sunburst’s prior fear or worry vanished, and he suddenly looked at his old friend with more apprehension. “Starlight, what exactly did you do?”

The pink-coated unicorn looked downward and mumbled, "I…I was…I was under the belief that having ponies remove their cutie marks and making them the same was the best way for society to exist. I thought individuality only caused pain and suffering. Twilight and her friends basically came along and ruined my plans."

The magic-researching pony had to stop his jaw from dropping as things got more insane. “Remove cutie marks…you can actually do that? How? No, wait, not important. So how does this relate to anything?”

Starlight sighed as her eyes drifted to her own cutie mark, almost wishing she’d never gotten it. “After that, I managed to slip away and decided since they ruined my plans, I’d ruin something of theirs, namely the thing that mattered the most to them.”

Sunburst nodded while adjusting the glasses on his face."So you tried to end their friendship because if they never became friends, you would've never lost your power and could’ve spread your message all over Equestria."

She then slammed her hooves down at a wall and shouted, "Yes!" She quickly pulled her hooves back and offered a very soft sorry at the sudden outburst. “But yeah, that’s pretty much the whole story.

Sunburst paused, taking a minute to take everything.

“Listen, I didn't mean for all of this to happen! I'm not evil….anymore.” Starlight practically groaned internally; this was all sounding like a bad sales pitch.“I…I think life would be better if ponies were the same. That way, no pony would be hurtful, and chaos wouldn't reign. Can't you see I was trying to stop this from happening!?"

"I can see your point…." Sunburst muttered, thinking about all the twisted things Discord and Twilight have done, not that what Starlight suggested sounded much better.

"See, even Celestia and Luna couldn't stop Discord. Faust knows everypony would be better off if they couldn't be like him," Starlight continued, practically falling into her old ways again.

Sunburst seemed to still contemplate everything as he said, "Maybe…But what are we to do with this information? Are you still bent on removing individuality from everypony?"

This time Starlight paused; she knew Sunburst didn't fully understand everything about her, so she couldn't tell him her plans. So, for now, she'll wait until she can fully trust him, then say, "No, I know I was wrong; I just needed to let you know, considering we were friends before.”

Sunburst still seemed unsure of even if he could truly trust Starlight. “Okay, Starlight, I won’t say anything for now.”

Starlight immediately brought Sunburst into a hug and silent thank you that he awkwardly returned, still far from comfortable with all he’d be told.

Later that evening, the two former princesses opted to take a brief walk and trot through the fields heading to the nearby town.

Despite being a considerable distance from Canterlot, it was quite impressive.

It had a massive wall of white and light blue stone surrounding the place with towers, overhead waving flags with silvery stars and crescent moons decorating it. The two princesses were in awe as they entered through the gates and soon trotted down cobblestone streets that were colored similar light blue and white.

Despite the entrance, there were fewer castles and more upper-class manors with ponies wearing outfits of the same decoration as the flags being a bright purple. Interestingly, despite their attire, they seemed normal, living rather casual lives, foals going to school, ponies buying and selling merchandise at markets, and even a spa. Sweet Apple Acres was still there, but there were numerous ponies bucking away. It appeared as though the entire extended Apple Family had there if the massive mansion on the property was anything to go by.

Jarring as the sight was, Celestia couldn’t help but be impressed.“It seems this princess is doing well. At least the ponies here seem content and happy compared to Canterlot.”

Luna, however, was the most suspicious of the two once again.“I feel this is too good to be true; we must remain vigilant.”

“I understand, sister,” Celestia whispered back, still keeping a vigilant eye as they continued through the city. They eventually came to the town square and saw a princess statue. She was in a prancing position with her horn rather tall, and her wingspan was massive. Underneath the statue was a plaque that read, “Princess Trixie, the Princess of Trixieville!”

“Not exactly the most humble Princess is she,” Luna muttered quietly to her sister, who nodded at the sight of the plaque. Seriously, naming the town after yourself, suddenly they felt far less confident about this self-proclaimed royal.

Continuing to walk, they made their way to the grandest building in the city, a castle bigger than theirs! It was made like all the other buildings, with similar white and blue bricks with Trixie’s flags waving atop each tower. As the princesses approached the massive double doors, fireworks began exploding in the sky with PRINCESS TRIXIE spelled out in the sky.

Walking down a massive hallway, they eventually reached the throne room, finding Princess Trixie upon a massive chair with equally gigantic wings and a tall, magnificent-looking horn just like her statue outside.

The blue-colored alicorn looked down at the princesses with a cocky smirk befitting her ego.“My my, what have we here? Discord's playthings in the presence of The Great and Powerful Princess Trixie!"

Celestia and Luna looked at each other, seeing that their "help" was an egomaniac and their hopes were slowly running down the drain that she would be of any help.

The Princess of the Sun swallowed her pride and bowed her head., "Yes, my sister and I need your aid. Discord has ravaged Equestria, and reality as we know it is fracturing. We ask your help to combat him and end his reign."

A quick nudge got Luna to follow suit, though she didn’t placate Trixie’s ego by speaking, merely bowing and nothing more.

Princess Trixie looked intrigued at the idea, tapping a hoof to her chin with a smirk forming on her face. "Honestly, I've been thinking of taking down Discord myself. I have lost contact with the Lord of Chaos for some time, and I don't care about him that much."

The princesses were somewhat astonished by this news. , "So… you're not going to turn us over to Twilight?"

"Of course not, and we can discuss defeating Discord at another time…though I’m willing to help you really only on one condition," The blue-coated alicorn slowly trotted towards them, both princesses dreading the demand.

Shockingly, Trixie threw her hooves up and exclaimed, "You two must join me in my shows!"

The alicorn princesses, momentarily stunned, immediately paled at the mention of “shows' ' immediately flashing back to their prior “performances” by Discord and Twilight.

Surprisingly, Trixie saw the fear on their faces and responded rather unexpectedly. "Oh, don't worry, you'll be my backup stars; no dangerous stunts required! And I’ll ensure you are well cared for. You'll be pampered like a princess without having to perform your old royal duties! Doesn't that sound grand!?"

Luna eyed her and wanted to say "no," but Celestia quickly pulled her to the side and whispered, "I know this sounds crazy, but we need to take her deal."

"Are you serious!? This crazy pony is going to get us killed! We can't be standing around performing tricks. Once Twilight informs Discord of our escape, he'll come straight here! We need to leave as soon as possible!"

"I know, but she's an alicorn and has been granted the ability to wield Chaos Magic. Despite her personality, we need her help. If all we have to do is perform a few tricks, it’s worth the trade."

Luna grumbled as she didn't like this deal. "ok, we'll stay for one night and help her with her stupid show. Afterward, we leave to find the other Elements of Harmony with or without her help."

Celestia nodded as the two turned to face Princess Trixie, who eagerly awaited their response.

"So, is everypony in agreement ?"

Luna stayed quiet as Celestia cleared her throat."We will help you with one show; then we'll discuss terms to defeat Discord."

"It's a deal!" Princess Trixie exclaimed, brimming with excitement as she flew towards them, looking the sisters over. "But I think you both need a uniform change, don't you think?"

The alicorn princess then lit her horn, and the two were then surrounded by swirls of magic. Their old uniforms were replaced with dark purple cloaks with sparkling stars set into the fabric. The giant red rubber noses were gone, and their afros were replaced with jester caps over their heads with jingling bells.

The two mares looked at each other, noting that the outfits were less embarrassing and smelt nicer than their old clothes. There was a decent amount of silence as Trixie then trotted over.“So, what do you think?"

Luna turned towards her and snapped, "What'd I think!? You can sho-”

Celestia quickly clasped her hooves around her sister's mouth and said, "What she meant to say is we're quite exhausted from our trip and need some rest."

Luna gave a nod as Princess Trixie clapped her hooves together and exclaimed, "Excellent! Captain Shiny!"

"It's Shining Armor," the stallion muttered under his breath.

"Take the princesses to the guest suite to ensure they have everything they need," Princess Trixie proclaimed. Shining Armor nodded as he escorted the princesses up through the castle steps toward their quarters.

After a shower and a quick message to the rest of their allies, the group was now together in a well-furnished room. There were portraits of Trixie adorning the walls, with a lovely canopy bed lavished in velvety blankets and pillows. There was a table in the middle of the room with a fruit basket and various pastries. But Celestia and Luna were gorging on the fruit as they both missed having something not made of processed sugar.

It wasn't long before Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer (along with Zecora) joined them as they were accompanied by Shining Armor.

Sunburst groaned in embarrassment as he eyed the décor that surrounded them. "I know you all don't know Trixie, but you seriously can't trust her."

Celestia looked towards him as she wiped her mouth clean of some fruit juice."I know; she's self-absorbed and thinks way too highly of herself. But we don't have a choice, Discord has limited the magic my sister and I wield."

Luna turns towards her sister. "Well, for one sister, I agree with Sunburst. This Princess Trixie will stab us in the back the first chance she gets. There's no way she can tag along with us."

"It won’t come to that. I don't think she'll leave her kingdom. So we do this performance, then go to the Everfree Forest, where we can start our hunt for the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. Hopefully, we’ll find them quickly and resolve this."

Starlight had a cup of tea as she was sipping it silently, thinking about a maid she saw working in Trixie's palace."So…look…I need to explain some things."

All eyes were on the dimensional traveler, whose gaze shifted to a nearby door."One of Twilight's friends is here, actually working as a maid. Her name is Rarity."

The ponies all gasped as Celestia asked, "How well do you know her?"

Sunburst gave Starlight a curious look as she gulped and said, "I don't know her too well, but I know back in my timeline she's one of the best fashion designers in Equestria."

Luna seemed rather pleased by the news. "So this trip wasn't a waste of time after all? Is there any way we can convince her to come with us?"

Starlight shook her head. “Not sure; seeing how strict Trixie is, she might not want to just let her go. Assuming she would even want to come in the first place."

"Knowing Trixie, we would have to give her something in exchange for her. But if she likes her too much, it would be quite difficult for her to be let go of Trixie's service."

Celestia looked at a clock overhead and saw no numbers, just one arrow and a phrase where the twelve should be "Princess Trixie's Greatest Show in Equestria!" The Princess didn’t even react, expecting something to that extent."Let’s focus on one thing at a time., Luna and I have to go perform for one of Trixie's shows. After that, we'll devise a plan and hopefully get this Rarity on our side."

"But we have to be quick. Trixie seems to think she can keep us as a status symbol. But the truth is Twilight is ruthless.. if we stay here too long, Twilight will come for us or, worse, bring Discord here." Sunburst exclaimed as he seemed somewhat scared while trying to act brave.

"If we leave without Rarity, then all of this would be pointless anyways. For now, the plan is we stay here until we can get Rarity to escape with us, then we head to the Everfree Forest," Luna explained; she then looked over at every pony and asked, "Are we all in agreement?"

Everypony nodded at once and shouted, "Agreed!"

They then all clinked their glasses of tea together. Luna and Celestia then drank their tea and departed for their show.

Chapter Four: Princess Trixie's Grand Show

Later that evening, the princesses were escorted throughout the town known as Trixieville. Though, calling it a town was a bit of a disservice as it seemed to be more like a city now.

Celestia couldn't help but stare at the many large buildings that rose nearly to the clouds that seemed to be found at every corner.

"To think this was once the quaint little town of Ponyville. It's almost like we've been teleported to Las Pegasus."

"Tis truly a pity, dear sister," Luna found herself cringing at a giant neon billboard of Trixie hanging on a nearby building. "I much preferred the more rustic feel of the Ponyville of old. There was a simple charm to it."

"Indeed, it was something I found rather admirable about it."

The pair mused more over the lost village as they headed to the center of town, where a massive stadium with hundreds of ponies cheering while fireworks shot into the air.

It was hard to know whether to call it impressive or excessive.

Celestia had been to hundreds of Wonderbolt shows in her lifetime, many of which had been quite the spectacle, but this was unlike anything she's seen before.

The stadium's scale was impressive, holding maybe over a thousand ponies. She wasn't aware of what happened after Discord's takeover, but she assumed there were so many ponies here because many had fled from other towns and cities. Though even then, it was just as likely Discord allowed them to think they were safe for his amusement.

As they made their way to the center stage, Princess Trixie stood amongst the crowd, waving a hoof with her wings held high in the air, soaking in the audience's love and admiration.

The light blue alicorn smiled as she proclaimed, "Hello, citizens of Trixieville! How are we doing tonight!?"

The crowd began to cheer louder, "Princess Trixie! Princess Trixie!"

"That's what I like to hear!" the young monarch laughed as she raised her hooves to the chanting of her name. Celestia and Luna were rather disgusted by the ego oozed by the princess. She had a very high opinion of herself and never missed an opportunity to brag. Even Discord wasn't this ego-centric.

Despite their disgust, they both kept in mind they had to go through just one of these shows. Besides, it's not like they were exactly in a position to complain or mount some offensive.

"Now, we have a special show for you all! We have two former princesses with us tonight. So, let me introduce you to Ex-Princesses, Luna and Celestia!"

The crowd began to cheer with a bit of an increase in volume as the two were placed on either side of Trixie. Luna nervously bowed her head, seeming not to be used to the crowd, while Celestia smiled and waved a hoof with practiced ease, having missed doing these kinds of things during her reign.

Her audience was enticed; Trixie spread her wings and started to hover off the ground. "Now, it is time for what you have all been waiting for! The greatest show of the ages!"

She then flew upward, her powerful horn glowing as she smirked downward at the depowered princesses. "Tonight, I'll show you my power and how powerless these former alicorns are!"

The sisterly duo felt any enthusiasm they had immediately left their bodies as they contemplated running, but with a whisk of a wand, both princesses disappeared rather suddenly. The entire crowd gasped in shock at what they saw. A spotlight immediately shined on Trixie, who casually removed her hat before digging inside with her hoof.

After a dramatic drumroll from seemingly nowhere, Trixie finally pulled her arm out and presented the princesses, now miniaturized to the size of tiny dolls. The audience erupted with excitement.

Celestia and Luna squeaked in freight but not before she tossed them back into the black void of her hat. Trixie then lit her horn and pulled out two bunnies from her hat. One was a white-coated bunny with a sun symbol near its hindlegs, and the other a black-coated one with and moon marking. The crowd oohed and awed at the little bunnies, who were now squirming about, unable to leave Trixie's grasp, and eyed the pair with wicked glee.

"Oh, that's not all."

The princess waved her wand again, and the bunnies were suddenly turned into seals before being set back on the ground. Trixie casually pulled a giant ball out of her hat before throwing it at the two. Despite the former rulers not wanting to indulge in this show anymore, their instincts seem to kick in as the two seals toss the ball across each other. The crowd clapped and was rather admired their princess's power.

"That's not all! If you think I can only turn ponies into animals, think again!"

With a whisk of Trixie's wand, she magically transformed the seals to their alicorn forms in the skimpy jester costumes. Neither alicorn looked especially happy about their little transformation show but found themselves trapped in a large crate before they could get a word out.

With a twirl of her wand, she unfurled the box, and then there, standing before the crowd, were two elderly-looking ponies with walkers; their manes were pale and thick glasses practically covering their faces. The ponies were quite impressed and clapped as the two elderly alicorns looked at each other with confusion.

"What's going on?" Luna tried asking, and false teeth came out of her mouth and clambered on the ground.

"Don't worry! I got them!" her sister cried as she dropped to her knees, as they made a crackling noise, only to immediately groan as her legs gave out, sending her to the floor.

"Guess age finally caught up with the princesses!" Trixie cackled lightly at the pair of aged mares. "Well, that's not all I can do!"

Princess Trixie then trapped the two in the box once more, and this time when the fours side collapsed, the two alicorns were two pudgy foals with thick diapers around their waists, playing with baby blocks with pacifiers in their mouths. The crowd dawwed as Trixie laughed. "Ah, Age Spells, my favorite! It still can't be too repetitive, after all. Let's get them back to their proper age!"

She then trapped the two foals in the box and unveiled it once more with the two, now adult alicorns, trapped in the box sideways with their heads popping out. Neither princess looked especially happy with the situation, which only became more frantic when Trixie reached into her hat again…and pulled out a rather long saw blade.

Smirking down at the pair, Trixie immediately set about cutting into the box the team was trapped in without hesitation! The two alicorns kicked and squirmed, fearing for their lives, but breaking out of the box was impossible!

Within less than a minute, Trixie sliced the box and its occupants in half. The alicorns could only stare in horror at the visible line separating their bodies as if they were made with clay. Trixie retrieved a small bag of powder from her hat before sprinkling it on the box. She pulled the box apart simply, confirming the division and sending the crowd into thunderous applause.

The sisters were both surprised that they could still feel and use their back legs. The crowd was in complete awe as they clapped and cheered. Trixie bowed as she then sealed the two back together.

Both Celestia and Luna, for a moment, felt a sense of relief at being made whole again, only for Trixie to wave her wand again, turning the box into a pair of cannons, with each princess sticking out the barrel.

With another wave of the wand, the fuse on both was ignited, sending the princesses into another panicked fit. Trixie bowed before the rest of the crowd as they continued to chant her name.

“Citizens of Trixieville! I have a special announcement! Tonight is an incredibly unique show, not simply because of the princesses' presence, but because they came to me for aid. They seek to overthrow Discord and return Equestria to its former state."

Celestia felt her eyes practically leap from their sockets at Trixie's sudden exposure to their plan. Luna looked about ready to unleash the Royal Canterlot Voice, half expecting the crowd to turn on them immediately.

However, to their surprise, the crowd cheered even louder, some chanting their disdain for the mischievous tyrant that ruled their lives.

Trixie took it all in stride as she landed between the two cannons. "Tonight! I showed you just an ounce of my power and proved that there is little doubt that Trixie is the greatest user of Equestrian Magic. Once Discord is defeated, I, Princess Trixie, will become Equestria's new Ruler!"

The speech got another round of applause and explosion of chanting as Trixie kept her hooves up in the air with her wingspan spread out. She then lit the fuse at the end of the cannons, and they exploded upwards into the sky, two massive explosions of the sun and the moon lighting up the entire stage.

The final two explosions faded with the reminisce of them drifting downwards with Princess Celestia and Luna formed next to Trixie. She gave one last bow, and the two former princesses shaking all over, did the same. Powerless to do much else, they realized how dangerous things were and how they had made a terrible mistake trusting Trixie.

Starlight Glimmer was still in Trixie's palace looking for she was looking around and trying to find Rarity, eventually stumbling upon her sweeping a nearby hall.

The mare wore a simple French maid uniform with a black bow tied in her mane. It was an outfit the mare Starlight knew would never be caught dead wearing, yet this Rarity didn't even seem bothered by it, almost seeming content with her meager standing.

The sight left Starlight feeling another pang of guilt, seeing the ordinarily passionate and, at times, fierce fashionista reduced to little more than a servant to an egomaniac.

So distracted, she didn't notice Sunburst appear at her side, looking on confused as he pushed his glasses up. "So this is the Rarity you were talking about?"

Starlight grimaced slightly at the uncertainty in his voice. She couldn't blame him; looking at the former Element, it was hard to believe she could help topple one like Discord.

"Yes…sort of. We need to get at least her motivated to leave this place; we can worry about getting her true destiny later."

The unicorn looked around, seeing no guards as they must all be attending Princess Trixie's performance. It was a perfect opportunity to try to snap Rarity out of the state she was in. The pink-coated unicorn ran down the hall and confronted the maid, who looked up and replied in a bored tone, "Hello? How was your room? Was it cleaned to your satisfaction?"

She sounded so lifeless. It left Starlight pausing at being forced to confront the results of her decision.

"Yes, it was, thank you," Starlight tried to shake off any lingering guilt for the moment. "But I have to ask what happened here? Call me crazy, but you don't exactly seem to be enjoying the whole maid thing?"

Rarity's expression didn't change an inch, as if her body was a machine on autopilot. "Before Discord appeared, I was in the service of Nightmare Moon. She offered me a job as a maid and accepted."

"Why would you do that!?" Starlight asked, somewhat surprised by the response.

Rarity scoffed, showing a hint of emotion for the first time. "I didn't know what else to do. Before that, I was going all over Ponyville doing odd jobs, working at Sweet Apple Acres bucking apples since the owner's granddaughter moved to Manehattan. When that failed went to Sugar Cube Corner and almost burned the place down. Then I went to work for the mayor as a secretary and ended up causing a riot. Nightmare Moon immediately appeared and retook the Everfree Forest as her domain. With Princess Celestia dethroned and ordered all but destroyed, I had little choice but to ask if she had any job offerings."

As she continued to mull over her life, Rarity's left hoof started dusting on reflex without taking her eyes off Starlight. Almost like it was second nature to her.

"Nightmare Moon thought I would make a good maid. And it was when I got my cutie mark." Rarity showed off her flank with a broom, holding two buckets of water on each side. "I assumed this was my destiny and worked up the ranks until I became her head maid."

Starlight blinked as she didn't expect to get such a mouthful from Rarity, and the way she was now had nothing to do with Chaos Magic, mind manipulation, or any forceful coercion. It was simply her screwing up the timeline. Even if Discord or Nightmare Moon had never appeared, it's very likely Rarity would've been left out on the street begging for bits or never left her parent's home.

The whole idea left her with a sick feeling in her stomach and wondering why she'd ever thought doing such a thing was a good decision. . Maybe she still believed in her ideology that if every pony were equal, things would be better. Yet, seeing the damage she'd caused to so many, and in countless instances before simply pursuing that idea, left her honestly questioning her decisions.

Regardless of how she felt, she had to fix this mess and restore things to how they should be.

With her plan already running through in her head, she quickly placed her hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "Listen, I know you won't believe me. But you weren't always like this, and you had a very fulfilling life, and if you want any chance to see that life, we need to leave now! Twilight or Discord might be on their way to take back Celestia and Luna for escaping his circus. If that happens, there's no hope for me to fix my mistakes."

Rarity paused, blinked once, and shook her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about, plus I have duties here that give me a fulfilling life. Even if I could become something better, this is fine."

Starlight groaned, rubbing a hoof down her face, expecting that kind of reaction. "Ok, let's try this a different way. Say you could go back in time, and you decided to make the costumes for your school play back when you were a young filly, would you?"

"Well…I did have some ideas, but I lacked the gemstones to make what I desired…Wait, how on earth did you know that?"

Starlight didn't bother acknowledging the second part and latched onto what she needed. "So…is that a yes?"

“Well…maybe…” Rarity's initial indifference seemed to crack, if only for a moment.

Starlight fought back a cheer, seeing she was getting somewhere but was nervous Rarity would still say no and stay here. She needed to push just a little bit more.

"Ok, and if you decided to keep making clothes, wouldn't you love to make fancy gowns and help find the perfect outfits for your friends? Wouldn't that sound much more fulfilling than working as a slave to some pony who treats you like dirt?"

Rarity paused as she seemed to be coming around finally. "I don't fully trust you. But I feel you're not wrong, and you have a point…Nightmare Moon and Trixie both treated me quite horridly. And even if it is what my Cutie Mark says, it never felt right to me."

Starlight sighed in relief; she had Rarity change her mind, and now the hard part was escaping the castle. "Alright, but we have to go now!"

Rarity was hesitant but nodded, following Starlight and Sunburst as they headed to the main hall. Their advance, however, was immediately halted when the doors burst open, and Princess Trixie strolled in with Celestia and Luna at her sides.

The former stage magician, who'd been positively beaming moments ago, found the sight of the group perplexing, mainly Rarity. "Maid, what is all of this? What are you all doing here?"

Rarity quickly curtsied and replied, "I apologize, your grace. I was merely giving a tour of the castle to Starlight and her coltfriend Sunburst."

Sunburst's face quickly matched his name at the designation. "We are-"

"Oh yes! My coltfriend, we're just having a tour of your lovely castle, right dear?" Starlight replied rather quickly while kissing Sunburst on the cheek. The stallion's face turned a deeper shade of red as he responded in incomprehensible babbles. Thankfully that seemed to sell the deception.

"Well, that is sweet, but cleaning must be done. Now maid, go and take my two new assistants to their chambers. They are quite exhausted after the show. Also, you will be quite busy as we prepare for our trek!"

"A trek, your grace?" Rarity asked with a queasy look on her face.

Trixie looked over and exclaimed gleefully, "Yes! One week from today, we will ride out to defeat my rival Twilight and then take on Lord Discord himself! But there's so much to pack. Also, I'll need an audience to witness me sealing Discord in stone!"

Despite looking utterly horrified at the idea, Rarity performed another curtsy without question. "I understand your grace. I shall do as you ask."

"Excellent. Now, ensure these two are well fed and given water." Trixie added as if she were talking about some pets.

The alicorn princess then strutted off as both Celestia and Luna slowly trotted over to the group looking wholly exhausted and scared at the same time.

Once they heard the door shut, Celestia collapsed onto the ground, practically gasping with exhaustion. "I'm sorry, Starlight, but we cannot rely on Trixie to help us. I'm not sure about the pony you're familiar with, but this one is quite unstable !"

"Unstable, she's utterly deranged." Luna practically shouted out, barely able to lift her own head up. We'd be better off leaving Discord in power than letting her rule. I dread what kind of insanity she'd bring to Equestria.

Starlight sighed, "Well, there goes my original plan; I might as well go back to our rooms before this looks suspicious."

As the princesses slowly picked themselves up and had Rarity guide them, Starlight eyed the maid again, hoping perhaps another solution could be found.

The collective group was back in the guest room, where the exhausted ponies sat around the center table, drinking wine and eating from the fruit basket. They all looked exhausted or defeated as their one chance to escape failed.

Starlight turned to the former princess of the sun. "Celestia, I have to know, how powerful is Trixie?"

Celestia took a long swing from her glass before finally responding.

"Powerful, she uses advanced spells that would normally take thousands of years to master and bend the fabric of reality at a whim. Discord has truly given her a portion of his Chaos Magic."

Luna nodded, biting into a pineapple, of all things, without a hint of hesitation. "I must agree with my sister; Trixie cannot be defeated through combat. If we were to face her, she would imprison us like what Discord did back in his circus." Both Celestia and Luna shivered at the notion. "We don't wish ever to repeat that mistake."

Starlight plopped down her chin onto her hooves. "There has to be another way…we have to think of something."

Surprisingly, Rarity, who'd stayed with them despite her prior orders, was raised with a hoof. "Starlight told me what's going on, and I understand you all need to leave…I…I have a plan for you to escape."

"Really!?" Everypony asked in unison.

Rarity nodded and continued, "Yes, there's a hidden passage in the castle that Trixie placed just in case Discord decided to turn on her."

"Ok, what's the catch?" Luna asked, eyeing her.

Rarity looked down, somewhat apprehensive about speaking. "Well, it's guarded by her most trusted servant, Big Macintosh. He's a massive and powerful pony who guards it day and night. It's his only job. But it's a secret. I only know about it because I talk to him occasionally after bringing him his daily meals."

"Ok? So how do we get past him?" Starlight asked.

Rarity smiled as she explained, "I know his favorite food, apple cinnamon pancakes. I'll make some along with his usual coffee during his ten-minute break. While he's distracted, You all can slip into the passage unnoticed, But if I'm going to escape, somepony needs to slip something into his drink."

Zecora cleared her throat, getting all eyes on the talking skunk. "I'll make a sleeping draught for you, but I require some ingredients for the sleeping brew."

"Ok, what is it that you need exactly? I can fetch you things at the market tomorrow?" Rarity asked.

Zecora took out a quill and a scroll and began jotting down the list of ingredients. Meanwhile, Luna turned towards Rarity. "This is all well and good, but I assume the secret passage requires pushing a stone or pulling down a torch. How can you show us what to do so we aren't confused or lost down there?"

Rarity chuckled to herself, seeing how easy it was. "Well, that's the best part; the secret passage is behind a massive portrait of Princess Trixie herself. It's an illusion, hop through it, and you'll end up in a maze of caverns and tunnels. Once there, light your horns, and a glowing moss will guide you to the exit and right into the Everfree Forest."

Luna couldn't help but stare blankly at the relatively simple escape route. "I honestly can't tell if she's arrogant, incompetent, or lazy. Not even a few traps, just a simple illusion, and you're practically there?"

Rarity only offered a shrug while Celestia gave her sister a light pant on the shoulder. "Try not to overthink it, Luna; let's be thankful it is so simple for a change."

Starlight still seemed to be skeptical of the plan. "Ok? So, you make pancakes and some coffee. We'll make our way to the portrait; you then have Zecora slip her sleeping potion into Big Mac's coffee and serve it to him during his break. Meanwhile, we sneak to the portrait, hop inside and make our way to the Everfree Forest. Then when he's asleep, you come after us."

Rarity nodded and replied, "Yes, that sounds like a plan."

"Well, that sounds too easy. You're sure Trixie doesn't have traps, spells, or some monster lurking down below waiting for us?" Starlight asked as she was still feeling uneasy.

Rarity scoffed, "Please, why would Princess Trixie have a flesh-eating monster in her escape tunnel? Also, you forget she's an egomaniac. She's so up her flank she doesn't think anypony is smart enough to figure out her portrait is an illusion. Please, trust me on this."

Still skeptical, Starlight was happy Rarity decided to join them. Still, it sounded too easy, especially after their near-death encounter with a massive dragon just a day ago. But…maybe it was that simple, and she needed to relax a bit.

"Well, we should at least vote on this. All in favor of Rarity's plan raise a hoof; all opposed give a neigh."

Everypony raised a hoof (besides Starlight), and she didn't even bother neighing seeing she was outvoted. "Ok, we're set with Rarity's plan. Be ready because we're going to bust out of here tomorrow night."

Chapter Five: Escaping Trixieville

It was now evening with Big Macintosh, a former apple farmer, was now a soldier in Trixie’s royal guard.

The stallion was guarding a hall with a beautiful violet carpet with the portrait of Princess Trixie slaying a Ursa Minor on full display. She was in her alicorn form shooting a beam of energy through the beast as it stood over her with its gaping jaws wide open as if it were going to devour her.

Whether or not there was an actual truth to the image was somewhat debated. Trixie claimed that after Discord gave her Alicorn Magic, she effortlessly conquered the massive creature, though some did still question its legitimacy, not enough to voice said views.

It was something Mac pondered from time to time since the portrait itself was about the only thing special in this hallway. He’d been guarding this section of the castle for nearly a year and had fallen into a fairly standard routine. He wakes up, guards, takes a break, guards, eats, guards, break, guards, then goes back to sleep. He does this day in and day out and never misses a beat.

It truly was about as mundane of an existence as one could get, ironic given his ruler’s obsession with stage performances. Yet, Mac willingly endured it, not for his sake but for those he cared for.

His family all were living rather luxuriously, thanks in part to Trixie using her magic to effectively automate the apple collection process, to where all Apple Bloom and Granny Smith had to do was sell the produce with little effort on their part.

Honestly, if his sister saw the family taking such an easy route to success, she’d have likely talked their ears off from now till Nightmare Night. Sadly, she’d up and left for Manehatten some time ago and never looked back. Things only became more concerning when Discord appeared and defeated Nightmare Moon, leaving the farm hand to fear for his siblings safety.

Though life in Ponyville was fairly comfortable, Trixie tended to keep things isolated with little information from the outside world leaking in.

Even now Big Mac wondered/feared what the Lord of Chaos did to the city and could only hope she was alright. Had he the power to, he’d kick down the nearest wall and run nonstop to the city until he’d tracked his sister down.

Yet, for all his strength, he might as well have been powerless against Trixie’s Alicorn Magic.

But for now all he can do is guard this stupid portrait and keep other servants from getting near it. And then they’d discover Trixie’s little secret, a hidden passway that Trixie explicitly told him she’d make him into one of her “assistants” for the rest of eternity.

Only benefit of those threats was they helped keep him vigilant and focused, along with the hope that someday he’d finally be able to go and check on his sister in Manehattan.

Still…that kind of motivation only works for so long, especially when the hall only had three entrances including the portrait and nopony to talk to.

Mac silently contemplated once again counting bits of dirt on the floor or maybe just apples in his head again, when he actually heard something.

“Hello, Big Mac.”

Finally alert and on guard, Mac immediately looked toward the entrance to the left and to his surprise sawRarity trotting to him.

That alone wouldn’t have gotten his attention, but the smell of what he knew to be pancakes had him enraptured, his mouth open and quickly leaking drool. It was a weakness Rarity had learned of quite well in her time through the castle, occasionally slipping him a pancake or two.

Prior to working for Trixie, Rarity had briefly worked at Sweet Apple Acres as a farmhand. It wasn’t by choice of course, but Discord’s mad takeover had practically made fashion a lost art, with his bizarre tastes and preferences causing Rarity to all but swear of sewing. Still it wasn’t all bad Big Mac had been a patient and friendly boss who’d shown her the ropes and appreciated her earnest demeanor. Said it reminded him of his sister, even suggesting the two likely would’ve been good friends had she stayed in Ponyville.

Thus when both had been basically drafted into Trixie’s service, Rarity made it a point to visit the big stallion whenever the chance arose to help alleviate his boredom. Now however, it was more than a simple social call.

“So was it another typical boring day for you?”

Big Mac, finally regaining some level of dignity, closed his mouth before letting out a loud groan. “Eyyup.”

Setting the pancakes down near the large stallion she took a spot next to him, a position they’d been in more than a few times. “Did you speak to Trixie about looking for your sister?”

Big Mac gave a sigh and shook his head no, “Eynope.”

“I see, I’n not exactly sure why, surely you've gained plenty of her favor over this past year…but your right to remain cautious one slip up and all that work could be for nothing.” Rarity sighed as she lifted the pancakes to his mouth and fed him as if he were a child. Despite how silly this was, Trixie told him he had to remain vigilant almost twenty four seven.

That sadly included standing like a statue and not moving an inch. Yes it was silly but Trixie was only slightly above Discord when it came to things like logic.

Before Rarity could give Big Mac the coffee she paused, her comment bringing a certain detail to light. Namely, if she gave Mac the sleeping potion, Princess Trixie would most certainly punish him and he’d never see his sister again. And that was assuming the punishment didn’t also involve permanent imprisonment.

Even if it was for a good cause, could she really condemn an innocent stallion, one she considered a friend, to such a fate?

Rarity looked into Big Mac’s kind eyes and said, “Big Macintosh I…I have to confess something but I need you to remain calm.”

The stallion eyed her, being a bit suspicious Rarity cleared her throat and continued, “Big Mac I am distracting you as some friends of mine will be escaping.”

He paused, heart thumping in his chest. “W…what did you say?”

“Listen to me, Princess Trixie is never going to help you find your sister and she’ll most likely just use you until you drop dead. Please come with me and we can find Applejack together."

Big Mac flinched, fighting back the urge to move a muscle seeming to be rather transfixed by what she just said. “R...Rarity y…you’re betraying the princess?”

“We don’t have a choice. I was hesitant as well, but there’s a chance we can not only save your sister but all of Equestria! We can’t simply let things remain as they are, especially with Trixie in charge of Ponyville.”

Rarity’s gaze drifted to the portrait of the Princess and she gagged at the massive vanity piece. “Please Big Mac, all you have to do is come with us.”

Big Mac quivered being unsure of what to do, he wanted to remain loyal to Princess Trixie but that was mostly due to fear of what she would do to him and his family. But he knew that what Rarity was saying was true, it was only a matter of time before something happened that finally gave Trixie an excuse to finally get rid of him.

Sighing in defeat and finally moving his head and neck, he nodded. “I’ll help, but I need to go grab my family. I can't leave them here.”

“Ok, just meet us on the outskirts of the city, and hurry!”

Big Mac nodded and saluted, then replied with a “Eyup!” He then hurried off as Rarity turned to see the rest of her group sneaking over through the hallway.

Both Celestia and Luna turned their eyes to the direction Mac had fled in, Luna looking both confused and perturbed. “Why is he still awake and where exactly is he going?”

“Sorry, but I couldn’t put Big Mac to sleep, he’s my friend and I couldn’t leave him. He’ll come with us.”

Everypony was weary of this decision. “You do realize that the more of us there are, the harder escaping will be?” Celestia was not one to abandon her subjects, but this situation was dangerous and risky enough as is. Thankfully, Starlight’s own prior history gave a quick solution to the problem.

. “Look, I somewhat know Big Mac, at least from my universe. Given what I’ve seen of this universe, he’s not that different from my world’s Mac and he was about as trustworthy as you can get. We should be okay.”

The rest of the ponies reluctantly agreed seeing they didn’t have time to debate and followed the maid through the dark maze like caverns as they made their way to the end of the tunnel.

Lucky for them Trixie seemed pretty confident in the passage’s concealment, as it otherwise lacked any kind of defenses or traps one would expect.

“Anypony else getting the idea this is a little too easy?” Rarity couldn’t help but state the obvious they were all thinking, a sentiment Luna shared.

“Indeed, escaping from Canterlot required more than a little effort on our part,” Luna and Celestia squirmed at the memory of the clowns and endless assault of pies they’d endured. “Arrogant Trixie maybe, but I still find it hard to believe she wouldn’t have some other trick in the event of something like this.”

Though Starlight and Celestia shared their fears, neither saw the benefit in worrying about such things at the moment.

“Look guys, we can’t afford to worry about that sort of thing right now. Who knows, maybe we finally caught a break and things are just this easy.”

Ahead the group finally saw a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel and made it outside…only to find themselves surrounded by soldiers all pointing their spears with Shining Armor leading the helm.

All eyes immediately were on the visibly sweating and embarrassed Starlight. “Okay, nevermind, our luck is absolutely the worst.”

The small band of ponies quickly found their backs against each other, completely encircled by the many soldiers around them..

Starlight bent to Rarity and whispered “I thought you said no pony knew about Princess Trixie’s secret passage.”

Rarity started to look rather nervous and started shaking and stammered. “They didn’t, there must be an alarm or something?”

“Or Big Mac betrayed you and warned them?” Luna grumbled angrily, her cynical side rearing it’s ugly head again.

“He wouldn’t do that,” Rarity snapped.

“Quiet!” Shining Armor quickly shouted as he came forth .“By order of Princess Trixie! You are all under arrest for attempting to flee her kingdom!”

Celestia, trying to regain some of her previous fire, stomped a hoof to the ground and stood against the army. “Penalizing ponies simply for wishing to leave? What kind of a ridiculous law is that?”

“As it states in the law of Trixie, all ponies who step into her kingdom are her subjects and thus fall under her authority. Without exception.”

The soldiers took a step forward, their spears getting closer, causing Celestia to step back towards the group, all contemplating what exactly their options were.

Thankfully, a loud voice nearby managed to do the job for them.

“Eynope!”

They turned to see Big Mac leading a host of soldiers who then all pointed their spears at Shining Armor and his ponies. Furious, the Captain of the Guard held a hoof and pointed towards the host Big Mac led, shifting their attention to their own defense. “Big Macintosh are you saying you’re defying Princess Trixie!?”

“Eyyup!”

“And you do understand that if you and your soldiers don’t stand down this is going to end up as a battle? Do you want that?”

“Eynope.”

Blunt as always, and a quick look at those beside him made it clear they shared his desire to avoid a fight.

“But then…why are you defying her!”

Big Mac sighed. “Because I’m tired of her. She treats all of us like her playthings, always promising to help us but never acting on it. She ain’t fit to be a ruler, especially since if Luna and Celestia are still alive then they are out Princesses.”

The soldiers began to lower their spears on both sides. What Mac said had some logic behind it, enough to shake the resolve of many, though Shining Armor didn’t seem as moved. At least that was until his glare turned into a smirk.“Well, I have to say Big Macintosh that makes a lot of sense.”

He turned towards his soldiers and gave a nod. With looks of almost relief and thanks, many started to throw their spears to the ground and it wasn’t long until all of the guards Shining Armor lead were now laying themselves at the hooves of the two princesses.

The sudden heel turn left all the other ponies stunned.

“Sister, do you understand what’s happening right now?”

“No Luna, I’m just as confused as you.”

Shining took a quick glance at all those in place and made sure they were safe. “So for the deception your highness, but we had to see who was truly loyal to Princess Trixie before we made a move.”

Celestia couldn’t help but be impressed with her former Captain. “Clever, you acted as if you’d be arresting us and Big Mac pretended to be leading a rebellion. That way you could know for certain who wasn’t onboard with betraying Princess Trixie.”

“Yes, he told me that Trixie had a silent alarm in her caverns. Once we received word we came here to “stop” you but the truth is we're all rebelling.”

Almost every soldier seemed to nod as one cried out “are you serious!? You have any idea what Trixie will do to you if she learns of your betrayal.”

Shining didn’t seem the least bit concerned, happy to finally speak his mind for once. “The point is she’ll never learn of our betrayal because we’re all leaving.”

As Big Mac had soldiers come with their families and loved ones they were planning a mass exodus from the city and into the Everfree Forest for refuge.

Celestia and Luna both were relieved and they escorted the train of ponies into the Everfree Forest all hoping things would be much smoother from here on out.

“Well, things seemed to have worked out better than expected Celestia,” Luna eyed the significantly larger force they now had on their side. “We may just pull this off after all.”

While Celestia appreciated her sister’s confidence, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she was getting. “Perhaps sister, let’s just hope our good fortune holds out.”

Chapter six: Twilight's Plan

One month earlier…

Twilight woke up, groaning loudly as she rubbed a hoof over her head and looked around what appeared to be a forest that she assumed was the Everfree Forest. However, the more she looked around, the more perplexing things seemed to be.

Rather than the dark, ominous woods with a growl or threatening sound from every shadow, the woods were cheerful and lively. In every direction she looked, birds were chirping in the air while bunnies bounced around where she stood.

If Fluttershy had been there, she’d likely have been bouncing right along with them.

Shaking that thought off for the moment, Twilight finally took note that the Cutie Map, the reason she was even here, was nowhere to be found.

“The hay?” Twilight practically screamed as her eyes immediately scanned every blade of grass, branch and stump for the map. “Where in the world are we right now? Logically we should’ve appeared in the same spot the map would be in this world, but clearly that’s not the case.”

“I’m just as confused as you Twilight, every other time the map’s always been right in the same spot,” Spike replied as he helped Twilight onto her hooves.

The duo quickly resumed their search for the map pedestal but seemingly only could find a relatively idyllic looking forest. The image only became more serene when numerous animals appeared out of the foliage, including bunnies, deer, and squirrels.

The seemingly adorable scene quickly took on a darker edge as, heading the party of animals, was a skunk, armed with a tiny makeshift spear, pointing it at them and snapped, "Capture Twilight now! Before she escapes somehow!"

Before anypony could say or do anything, two deer strung Twilight up in vines. In contrast, a few rabbits who Spike and Starlight Glimmer at spearpoint.

Twilight kicked and cried as she struggled to break through the, "Can someone explain what's going on? We are not Changelings, I swear!"

"Don't play dumb! The Changelings are long gone. Keep her lock and key. This is a great victory!" Zecora cheered as she threw her spear in the air, with a cry from the forest critters. The sound of their zebra friend’s voice coming from the skunk quickly drew looks of shock and surprise from the captured trio.

Their questions would be left unanswered for the moment, as once Twilight was properly bound, she,along with Spike and Starlight, were led through the forest by spearpoint giving the three a sense of deja vu.

Though unlike before, they were led to a valley instead of a clearing and the differences only continued from there.

It looked similar to the village in the timeline where Chrysalis had conquered Equestria. However, the most significant difference was that the place was inhabited by forest critters instead of ponies.

The creatures gave the group suspicious and scared looks, some jumping into bushes. The group eventually came to make a shift cage made of ruined stones and a few thick pieces of wood, and they were thrust inside with Twilight still tied up. Once they were locked inside, the critters left with Zecora.

As soon as they were alone, The violet alicorn glared angrily at Starlight. "See what you’ve done!? I was trying to show you the consequences of your actions, and you still wouldn’t listen to me!”

Starlight rolled her eyes at the princess’s anger. "What I’ve done, and what exactly is that? Ended your precious friendship!? Remember, you're the one who brought me here, so this is all your fault, not mine."

"Seriously!?” Twilight practically slammed her forehead against the manic mare. “You don't think that anything you did was wrong? You don't think we just saw a talking skunk, and somehow she thinks keeping me as a captive is a good thing?"

"Maybe everypony realized I'm right and you're wrong!? Maybe the Everfree Forest is beautiful and has talking animals!? I don't get why you're so surprised. I mean, you have a talking dragon."

Spike looked at her almost like she’d grown a second head. "Yeah, because most dragons can talk, not skunks. Also, was it just me, or did that skunk sound a lot like Zecora?"

"Zecora, who's that?" Starlight, being the only one not familiar with the zebra shaman, looked utterly confused.

Twilight ignored her, paused to think. "You're right, Spike. That skunk does sound a lot like Zecora. Maybe in this reality she’s always been a skunk, maybe they just have similar voices or maybe something happened that made her that way. Either way, there’s a lot more going on here than we realized.”

The sound of footsteps interrupted their conversation and found the aforementioned skunk, followed by a few armed bunnies, approaching them.

"Curious you know my name, and you even look the same. Yet even now it is clear, you are not the Twilight I fear," The skunk explained as she slowly approached the cage with a suspicious look. "Before I set you free, I need your identity."

Twilight sighed and put a hoof on her chest "My name is Twilight Sparkle. I was a student of Princess Celestia. I've been the Wielder of the Element of Magic for over two years and have been living in Ponyville that long."

She paused, chuckled to herself, and continued, "In fact, we met under similar circumstances. I thought you were a witch cursing me and my friends, and it turns out we trotted into a field of Poison Joke, and you were just trying to warn us."

"As far as I remember, I have never met you personally, but I can see in your eyes that you have integrity," The skunk turned her attention to the pudgy purple drake."Now for the drake, please tell us who you are so we can determine your fate."

Spike, flinching a little at the potential outcome, quickly placed a claw over his chest, "I'm Spike, the brave savior of the Crystal Empire."

Twilight rolled her eyes at her assistant’s act of aggrandizement while Zecora could only shiver.

"Maybe in another life, here the Crystal Empire returned under strife, King Sombra brainwashed his citizens to conquer the land. However, It wasn't long until Discord revealed his hand. Sombra fell in his wake and is now a popsicle atop of a mountain of ice cream cake."

Starlight, Twilight, and Spike just blinked and stared at the story, stunned. Zecora eyed them. " Discord has conquered everything we see, this is the truth I tell to thee?"

Twilight's mouth went agape "...Discord won!?"

Zecora continued, "Not so soon, initially we were conquered by Nightmare Moon. However, she too fell and became his clown. Now she just juggles and uses a unicycle to roll around."

Funny image aside, Twilight felt herself going into panic mode, as this reality was getting worse by the second.

"How long exactly has it been since Discord returned!?" Twilight replied in a panicked tone.

"Almost a year, I fear."

Twilight started to sweat and stammered,"Where are the Elements of Harmony?"

"Why do you ask? They are useless and not up to the task." Zecora spoke with a bleak tone, having long ruled out the jewels as useful.

"No, we can still use them, but even if time has changed, my friends and Imust still be around. If we can get them together, we can stop Discord and hopefully before Tirek arrives."

Starlight scratched her head and asked, "Um, whose Tirek?"

Twilight's eyes went wide, "Were you living under a rock!? You never heard of Tirek!?"

"Um…you forget Our Town was kind of off the grid; it's not like we got daily news about anything going on."

Twilight slammed her hoof into her face. "He's a Centaur with the power to consume magic. Just imagine Discord, but instead of wanting to cause chaos and mischief, he simply causes destruction and misery!”

While that got a look of surprise from Starlight, she still didn’t look too concerned. “So what? All Discord has to do is snap his fingers and he can turn Tirek into a balloon animal or something right?”

Twilight did pause on that note. True Tirek’s ability to eat magic was formidable, but she recalled he was only able to steal Discord’s magic after stealing the power from nearly everypony in Equestria, something Discord would surely notice and respond to quickly.

As it was, the centaur was little more than a minor nuisance. Still though.

“Tirek’s much more clever than he lets on. It’s possible he could trick Discord and regain enough power to challenge him and if he wins, all of Equestria is doomed.”

That at least seemed to get Starlight to sweat a little bit, and Zecora almost looked convinced, able to see the genuine fear in her eyes.

Yet…

"Perhaps there is truth to what you say. Though it hardly matters anyway."

"Why's that?"

The skunk pawed at her and continued, "Because you see, as of now, you're the enemy. For several months now, Discord has been getting bored. So he has been relying on his second in command, Twilight, who performs his every demand."

Twilight blinked and then pointed at herself, "Me… you mean in this world, I'm Discord's second in command?"

The skunk nodded somberly. "Despite his power, Discord is almost like a child, letting his games and pranks run wild. Twilight is cold, cruel and ruthless to a t. She is by far the greater enemy.”

There was a solemn pause despite the peaceful sound of the forest nearby. There was an air of dread surrounding the group.

The skunk Zecora offered a gesture, motioning the animals to open the cage. “If you are truly not of this place then return to your home with quickened pace. We have long since accepted that hoping for salvation is a thought best rejected.”

Twilight looked utterly shell shocked by the almost defeatist declaration and it seemed like even Starlight was starting to finally understand how badly she’d damaged things.

"Okay, maybe I messed things up a bit, still…maybe there’s something we can do. Maybe evacuate as many ponies as we can to another country perhaps or maybe.

"No!"

Everypony tried to tell Twilight as she hardened her expression, "We aren't giving up. If I’m as evil as you say I am, then I know that Twilight is just hurt and in pain. There’s no chance I’d just fly off the handle like that without reason. If we want to do anything else, we’ll need her on our side and to do that we’ll need help. We need to find Princess Celestia and Luna.”

Zecora merely shook her head somberly at the idea. "Twilight, you don't see? Princess Celestia and Luna are under lock and key. We have no idea where they can be, and what's worse, everypony in Canterlot is now insane. Any attempt at rescue would be in vain.”
‘
This roadblock did little to stop Twilight, already mulling over her remaining options before a thought suddenly struck.

"It'll be impossible for me, but not her." she pointed at Starlight Glimmer, whose eyes went wide,

"Me!? Why me!?"

Not bothering to answer, Twilight dragged her down into the tent away from Zecora and pulled her up until they were face to face. “Listen, I know you don’t care for me or what I stand for, but I’m sure you at least care about Equestria and don’t want to leave it like this right?”

Starlight paused and glared. She seemed reluctant but eventually relented "No, I don’t. Making ponies suffer, contrary to what you might think, has never been my goal.”

"Then you need to infiltrate Discord's city and make him trust you, and you have to do it fast. By my calculations, we have four months until Tirek returns; he'll be weak at first, but it won’t take him long to start accumulating power. We need to move fast and stop him before he attempts to usurp Discord."

True it certainly sounded crazy, and one would assume Starlight would just use her spell to flee this dimension, but Twilight made it clear she’d just chase after her no matter how many timelines she fled to.

Besides…now that she’d been forced to remain in this world longer than a few moments and get a scope of the damage her decision had caused…it gave her a bit more perspective on the impact her desire could bring.

"I…I understand,” Starlight nodded, fully committing to helping out. “So we don't have any time to waste, huh?"

"No, we don't. I'll hunt down the locations of my friends and hopefully manage to gather them together so we can use the Elements of Harmony. Meet me back here, and we can discuss our next steps."

Starlight eyed her, then continued, "Ok, Twilight, but we're only working together because I don't want Equestria to be destroyed either. When we fix this and return to our original timelines, we will remain enemies; this changes nothing."

Twilight didn’t hesitate to nod, placing that particular issue under matters to address later.

"Agreed. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can ever forgive you for this, even if we fix everything. However, avoid mentioning our situation as much as possible, I doubt many of the ponies from this timeline would be happy to find out you technically caused this to happen.”

Starlight turned a few shades paler at the idea, recalling her own town’s uprising only much larger and likely much more violent.

"Yeah, I wanna avoid that.”

The plan set, they trotted back to the front of the cage, and Twilight turned to Zecora.“Alright, we have a plan."

Present Day

As soon as the ponies left Trixieville, they took a moment to finally catch their breaths, enjoying the brief respite.

Sadly the moment was ruined for the twin princesses, whose bodies quickly began to sprout the same clown attire they thought they’d disposed of back in Canterlot.

Luna groaned in anger as she touched her afro. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with this outfit any longer."

Celestia sighed with equal annoyance at the rubber nose on her face. "Discord is as petty as always. Trixie’s magic might have overridden his while we were inside her town, but now that we’ve left, we’re back to being clowns again.”

Lun almost looked tempted to tear the afro off, but knew it was fruitless and simply huffed angrily to divert her focus elsewhere.

The group then turned their attention back to the Everfree Forest, and everypony was amazed at what used to be a dark, gloomy forest filled with Timberwolves. Now it looked like something out of a fairy tale with lush foliage and birds chirping filling the air. Despite the Chaos Magic wafting from the forest, unlike the chaotic nature of Canterlot, or the ego that served Trixieville, this magic was serene and relaxing, like a gust of spring air filled with the smell of spring flowers filling the air.

Yet, despite the welcoming atmosphere, Zecora remained vigilant. "Now, before we enter this ghastly hollow, there are some rules you need to follow. Don’t consume anything without my say, lest they transform you in some way. The same goes for the streams and brooks, unless you want to receive strange looks. Most of all, stay close to the group, many a beast will attack you in one fell swoop.” "

Everypony nodded, and began trotting at a steady pace through the woods, while admiring the surprisingly beautiful scenery . Things became even more inviting when they spotted a field of lush wild carrots spotted about the ground.

They then heard a munching sound, and they turned to see a guard blushing as he had a carrot in his mouth. Still, he slowly shrank before their eyes as his ear grew out and loppy, with two black beady eyes and a cute pink underbelly.

"Oh, dear."

Zecora sighed, "I told you not to eat anything."

She waved a paw, and they continued. It was only a short time until they came across a stream with a cute little bridge arching over. As they crossed, they watched another bunny stumble right into the waters. Before anypony could do anything, they watched a transformed wild unicorn neighing and snorting as it ran into the forest.

That earned looks of surprise from those still present, while Zecora simply brushed it off with casual ease.

“Discord’s magic has had many an odd effect. Best not to question and simply accept.”

The group continued their trot, all more cautious across the water, before they soon came upon a field of mushrooms with fairies flying about, little ponies with butterfly wings fluttering by giggling and waving their wands, shooting glitter at them.

Zecora quickened her pace and gestured to the group to follow suit."Ignore them, please; they won't do a thing; they are trying to blind you so that you step in a mushroom ring."

Sadly, the warning came too late as another poor pegasus guard had a blast of glitter hit him in his face, sending him stumbling into a mushroom ring. His wings turned into butterfly wings, and his uniform was now a tutu with his sword and a glittery wand.

Shining Armor slammed a hoof into his face and ordered, "Please watch your step! We need as many bodies as possible if Princess Trixie comes after us."

The former captain didn’t like leaving one of his men in such a state, but as it was there was little they could do.

The ponies tightened their formation and became more alert on where they stepped despite the pesky fairies fluttering about.

Eventually, they were taken to a meadow, and the beauty just tranquil beauty practically erupted with deer, bunnies, squirrels, raccoons, turtles, ducks, and geese all walking about talking and seeming to be just going about their business, but the mass of ponies showed up.

Zecora came off and held her paws, "Everyone, please be calm! The princesses have returned!"

The many creatures immediately began clapping excitedly, earning awkward glances and waves from the Princessesses, having not received such a warm welcome in quite a while.
The sound of hoofbeats quickly broke through the applause as Twilight burst from the crowd, sending the entire atmosphere and leaving Luna to immediately aim her glowing horn at the Princess of Friendship.

Twilight immediately unfurled her own wings only to immediately bow her head to try and show no hostility. "Wait, it's not Evil Twilight; I'm the Good Twilight!"

Luna didn’t look even slightly convinced, while Celestia was more unsure, though their concerns shifted when Starlight finally arrived. “She’s telling the truth, everypony just calm down and we can sort this out.”

Seeing Starlight vouch for her, Luna let the glow from her horn fade and gestured the still kneeling Twilight to rise. In turn now getting a good look at the pony in front of her, Twilight almost had to do a double take.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, is that really you?"

Opting to lighten the mood a little, the former Princess of the Sun hooked the red nose on her face. “Indeed it is, though I suppose our current attire makes that hard to believe.”

It certainly was jarring to see the formerly most powerful pony in Equestria in a rainbow afro and bright red nose, but that was par for the course in Discord’s mad world. "I heard what happened to you and Princess Luna, but seeing you two like this is another thing entirely."

Circumstances aside, the sight of her mentor brought a smile and sense of relief back to the young alicorn. "Princess Celestia, I still can't believe you're here."

The alicorn's steady trot broke into a run. She ran into Celestia's chest, who reflexively wrapped her wing around her as Twilight began to weep. The princess was stunned as, for years, a version of this same mare had been tormenting her and her sister, and now the former princess was embracing her as if she was her child.

Yet, for whatever reason that she couldn’t hope to explain, it felt right, as though it was always meant to be.

Celestia cradled the still weeping mare, still reeling from all that had happened. "It's all right Twilight. You're safe."

"Y…you have no idea how long I’ve needed to hear that," Twilight whispered as she got ahold of herself and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Listen, we have a lot to discuss. But we should go to my hut and talk things over there."

The interaction was interrupted by Shining Armor, who’d approached them and found himself staring in surprise at the Element of Magic. "You really are Twilight?"

Wiping away a few tears, Twilight opted to settle any remaining confusion. "Well, not your Twilight, but seeing my BBBF is still doing well is nice."

Shining almost felt his heart clench at the mention of the nickname his Twilight used to call him. "Yeah…it's nice to see you as well.”

There was an awkward pause for a moment as Shining wasn’t sure what to say, before shifting back to his more professional demeanor. “We'll get started setting up a perimeter. The last thing we need is Princess Trixie or Evil Twilight giving us a surprise.” With a quick salute, he led several of the guard ponies to get to work, while the rest headed further into the forest towards Zecora’s makeshift village.

Those ponies that didn’t follow Shining almost immediately collapsed once inside the village, the creatures quickly offering them fresh fruit and water, which they all happily took. Twilight herself took a moment to relax as well, looking upon the scene before her.

"Well, I'm glad everypony is here and…Rarity?"

The sight of the maid clad mare made Twilight do a double take, while Spike’s expression turned love struck.

"Yes, darling? May I help you," the mare asked as she curtseyed in her maid uniform.

Opting to ignore her attire, Twilight simply decided to get the obvious out of the way. “I’m guessing this is the first time we’ve met, or rather Evil Twilight and you?”

"You would be correct I’m afraid. Despite your other’s reputation, I wasn’t even aware of her until I heard Princess Trixie rant about you and wished you to be demoted to her court jester."

Huh, even in this alternate reality, Trixie still hated her. Guess some things just never changed.

"What about me!?" Spike asked rather desperately, still eyeing the rather fetching outfit the alabaster mare wore.

For whatever reason, Rarity found herself smiling fondly at the small dragon, "Oh, sorry darling, I don't know you either. In fact, I don't think I’ve ever met a dragon before."

Spike groaned, "Rats!"

"I see…" Twilight sighed, seeing things had gotten a bit more complicated. “ Alright, well, you may not know me, but in my world, you’re one of my closest friends and probably one of the best fashion ponies in Equestria.”

A hint of light appeared in Rarity’s eyes at the mention of fashion, but they quickly dulled back to their usual look. "I see. Starlight told me this, too. I’d like to believe it’s all true, but I’m still skeptical for the moment"

"Well, even that's a start, and yes, we are telling the truth. But we can discuss that later, right now I need everypony’s attention.”

"Of course, please continue," Rarity responded as she performed another cutesy before wandering off.

Moving to the front of the village, Twilight used her magic to pull out a chalkboard and a quick tap of it got everypony’s attention. "All right everypony. Now I know me being here must be confusing since most of you know me as an evil magician named Twilight. First, let me be clear that's not me..though to keep things simple I will refer to her as Evil Twilight or ET while I'm good Twilight or GT."

Everypony nodded their heads as Twilight continued, "Good! Now to clear up any further confusion, I’m a Twilight from an alternate timeline, one where things occurred very differently to here.”

A quick flick of the chalk, several lines were drawn across the board. "This is the timeline I came from where I met my friends here in Ponyville, then we went to the Grand Galloping Gala, defeated Discord, saved my brother's wedding from Queen Chrysalis, saved the Crystal Empire from Sombra, then followed by me becoming a princess. Now after an incident involving a Time Spell, history was altered that led to events occurring that allowed Discord to take over all of Equestria unopposed.

Twilight drew a line back to when they defeated Discord, "In my timeline my friends and I used the Elements of Harmony to defeat him. However, as Rarity just pointed out, my friends and I never met in this timeline, thus once Discord was free, nopony could stop him.”

“I thought the Elements were just a myth or just hunks of rock?” One of the guards commented, reflecting the mindset of many from Twilight’s time prior to the defeat of Nightmare Moon.

Rather than have Twilight explain it, Celestia opted to lend some credibility to the claim. “The Elements of Harmony are real and were how my sister and I defeated Discord before. However, they only work if the users possess the essential qualities found within said elements.”

“Wait, if the Elements are so powerful and you’ve used them before, why haven’t you tried using them now?”

”When I was forced to seal my sister away into the moon, we lost the ability to wield them and I was forced to hide them away. Since then, I’ve been searching for those who could use them before Nightmare Moon returned. Sadly, I failed" The former monarch felt her head slowly grow heavy under the gaze of her subjects. "I failed to save my sister and thus set the chain of events that led to Discord's return."

"Princess, it's ok; you're not the one to blame," Twilight replied, saddened to see her mentor look so defeated "Besides, we still have a chance to make things right.”

Turning back to the board, she returned her chalk to another point on the line. “Moving back to my timeline, a few weeks after I became a princess, we lost the Elements of Harmony, returning them to the Tree of Harmony to save the princesses from some evil vines Discord sewed in the ground over a thousand years ago. Then about three months later, not long after we held the Equestria Games ...."

She then circled a big dot a week after that., "Tirek returns."

Like Starlight, the name earned looks of confusion, curiosity and disinterest from the crowd, though Celestia and Luna looked horrified at the idea.

“Tirek?”

“He escaped?”

"Yes, he managed to break free from Tartarus and almost destroyed Equestria. Ironically enough, our Discord helped us defeat him…though he did team up with him for a while."

“Hmph, seems your world’s Discord is about as trustworthy as ours.” Luna glowered, likely wishing she could take a shot at the other Spirit of Chaos.

"Now, from what I can calculate, it's been a year since Discord won. So I would say…" she then circled around the time she became a princess. "I would say we are around here, so we have time to defeat Discord and save Equestria and hopefully find a way to meld our timelines and make it as if none of this happened, but the only way we can do that is if we can unite ET with the other wielders of the Elements of Harmony."

Celestia gulped and asked, "Twilight can't you make friends with them? Wouldn't that still work?"

Twilight shook her head no "I don't believe so; it took a considerable amount of effort just to get him to behave and it was only after Tirek’s betrayal that he finally acknowledged us as true friends. Uniting the other Element Wielders is our only option.”

Starlight however didn’t look convinced, practically stomping up to the stage. “You do realize that all your so-called friends have never met you or simply recognize you as an evil dictator right? Plus we have no guarantee this universe's Elements would work with you in place of our world’s Twilight.”

"Well, we have to try, but we can save her for last now; we should focus on the others," Twilight explained. She flipped the board and there was a map of Equestria with Canterlot named "Capital of Chaos" then below that Trixievill, Cloudesdale with a ? the south with "beware fire breathing chickens" and the "Desert of Sadness" and near the east side of the map read "Enchanted Forest" and northeast near the ocean was "Toy City" each area had a circle with ET in Capitol of Chaos, R in Trixieville PP in the desert of sorrow FS in the enchanted forest RD in Cloudesdale and AJ in Toy Town.

Twilight came to the R in Trixieville and crossed a line through it. "While Starlight and Zecora hatched a plan to rescue Princess Celestia and Luna, I searched for my former friends. Now with Rarity, that leaves five others. But like we said, ET will be the last."

Celestia pointed at Cloudesdale, "Why is there a question mark there."

"Well, the truth is I can't get in. A giant golden fence surrounds the city, and the pegasi guarding it barred me from going inside. There's some powerful magic around it as the clouds are impenetrable; you can't fly through them or even blast through them. Besides that, I traveled around for a bit, looking for any sign of my friends.”

Her hoof quickly zeroed in on Toy Town

“From what I gathered my friend Applejack is in what is or was Manehattan and as of right now, she’s a literal porcelain doll. The only way I can even speak to her is by getting invited to some kind of tea party, which I’m still working on.” Her hoof quickly shifted places on the map. “In the south, everything has been converted to giant temples and pyramids. From what I can tell, the ponies there worship another of my friends, Pinkie Pie, as a goddess, and she has enslaved them to build these structures.

"Some friends, huh?" Starlight grumbled.

Twilight glared at her as if she wanted to say something but continued, "Well, for now, the closest one is nearby." She pointed at the Enchanted Forest not far from where they were. "I found that Fluttershy has been turned into a bear living in a cave not far from here. I tried to get her out, but she's rather aggressive." Twilight pointed to a leaf wrapped around her right foreleg while shuddering at the memory.

"So what's the plan?" Starlight asked scanning over the map, "Do we have any idea how to get these crazy friends of yours to actually become friends?”

Twilight almost looked ready to snap at the former cult leader, this whole debacle was her fault after all. “It’s a work in progress. Besides we managed to get Rarity here didn’t we?”

“Well…yeah…”

"See, that's a start. I heard she was Princess Trixie's most loyal servant, yet she's here and clearly is going against her. If we can get her to fight back, then getting her and the others to become friends and save Equestria should at least be doable."

"Well, yes, but how do we do that?"

Twilight turned her attention back to the board and continued her lecture "Well, first, we should get the Elements of Harmony at the Castle of The Two Sisters here," She pointed at a drawing of a fairy tale castle. "Thanks to Discord’s magic, these aren’t ruins any more, but This some kind of enchanted castle, and I'm going to need help navigating through it, then we can head over to Fluttershy."

She then pointed at a cave not far from the castle. "After we get Fluttershy to come with us, I say we go to Manehattan and go to this "tea party" and convince Applejack to come with us; then I suggest Princess Celestia and Luna fly to Cloudesdale and get Rainbow Dash."

Twilight then lowered her stick to the south and said, "However, the hardest will be Pinkie Pie. Everything south of Ponyville is a massive desert filled with crazy fire-breathing chickens that probably used to be dragons and giant statues of Pinkie Pie trotting about. But there are a few places we can take refuge if need be, one being Las Pegasus, which is now a giant walled play zone for kids Not sure what's going on there as you can’t enter unless you’re eight. However, in Appleloosa everypony has been turned into cows, luckily, they're all pretty nice there, and the milk is great. So if need be we can stop there for shelter."

Another tap on the map pointed directly to the former capital of Equestria. "Once we gather my former friends, we should all return to the Capital of Chaos, take on Evil Twilight, and convince her to change her ways. If we can do that, we can find Discord, seal him back in stone, and then I'm sure I'll be able to go back in time and ensure that this never happens!"

Everypony seemed unsure, but Princess Celestia got up and clapped her hooves together. "Quite impressive Twilight. Despite the circumstances, it seems you’ve managed to craft a fairly well put together plan in such a short space of time.”

Luna also seemed to be impressed, eyeing the rather organized map "I see why in your timeline, my sister praises you so well."

Twilight practically preened under the praise, only to be jolted when Zecora saw fit to use her head as a makeshift podium. "Well, it seems we have a plan before we take our leave. Does anyone have anything to add to this scheme?"

Everypony was quiet, none even attempting to offer a counterpoint or argument, something Twilight was more than happy with. "Excellent! I agree with Zecora; let's get some rest. I bet all of us are going to need it."

They all started to break off, with Twilight and Spike going to their makeshift bed of hay and leaves. Meanwhile, Sunburst and Starlight were escorted to a hut nearby.

As Princess Celestia and her sister trotted through the small village, she saw that Big Mac and Rarity were sharing a hut. It was an adorable scene with the maid brushing the stallion's mane as he snored.

Celestia and Luna trotted through the enchanted meadow with fireflies dancing in the night and the star above shining bright. This was the most peaceful night she had ever seen before Discord's reign.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Luna asked, eyes happily tracing across the midnight sky.

"Yes, it is; remember how the Everfree Forest was before Discord's magic corrupted it?"

"Yes, this is quite close to the forest we knew as foals. But despite its beauty, it's tainted with Chaos Magic."

Princess Celestia’s mind drifted back to the unfortunate ponies who’d been turned into a bunny and fairy just to get to this location. In someways the woods were even more dangerous than before. Even so…

"I don’t think this is Discord's Chaos Magic at work. He mainly focused his attention on Canterlot. Everything else in the world is altered due to the unpredictable state of his magic, which now permeates the essence of the world.Everything can be altered in ways we can't imagine."

They eventually reached a small brook that gushed water over sparkling rocks. It was quite pretty, even if it was infused with Chaos Magic. Luna then gently raised her head to Celestia's ear and whispered, "Want to sleep here under the stars?"

Celestia nuzzled her sister as she replied, "I wouldn't mind that at all."

The two lay together, their wings covering each other for warmth, the only sound being crickets chirping and the brook gushing water over rocks and stones. With the light of lightning bugs lighting the grass and the cool breeze wafting through them, the two princesses felt something they haven't felt in a long time, peace.

Chapter Seven: Princess Trials

The following morning, Twilight, Celestia, and Luna were escorted across the enchanted woods by Zecora, the little skunk scampering eagerly through the forest.

The trip proved relatively short as the trio quickly appeared before a distant palace.

The skunk held a paw and said, "This is where the two sisters fought and brought despair."

The alicorns both gaped in awe at the magnitude of the building, looking much richer and more elegant than how it was even back in its hay day. However, the strangest part was the tower jutting up through the forest's center. None of those present could see the logic behind said choice.

Regardless, the two sisters looked up in awe, seeming to be completely amazed by the majesty of the new castle that was once a ruin. On some level, looking up at their former home with its renewed glory was almost nostalgic. Yet, there was another new addition they couldn't help but notice. Near the castle, a sparkling river could be found with the feeling of magic wafting from the waters.

A sign overhead read. "Only the Two Sisters may enter and create a pact within these waters."

"So this is why we're needed?" Luna whispered as she stared into the river, which seemed to shimmer and sparkle almost unnaturally.

"There's more to this than we think. "Celestia remembered this forest's various effects on other ponies. "To press forward, we must endure whatever effect these waters will have on us."

Twilight lit her horn as she scanned the magic around the forest. "It seems so. The magic itself seems a bit different from the rest of the forest. It's chaotic,…but it doesn't feel as potent."

Another faint shimmer from the waves did little to ease the confidence of those present.

Celestia and Luna both gave each other hesitant looks, having already witnessed the many random effects simply touching the water in this forest could have. It was effectively a roll of the dice and could be anything.

Yet, given the situation, they had few other options.

"I suppose we could go on three?" Luna asked, only half seriously, while Celestia was trying to keep her confidence.

"Better to just jump in now, rip the bandage off," Celestia muttered, knowing the longer they dragged this out, the less nerve they'd have to do it.

With barely a breath or another word, the two princesses charged and leaped into the rushing waves.

The effects were immediate.

The two alicorns barely breached the river's surface before seeing their wings and horns disappearing. Then their manes and tails changed, now tied up to look like some old fashion hairstyle, along with their tails being knotted and the duo now clad in magical gowns. Celestia's clown suit became a bright yellow dress, while Luna had a gorgeous violet gown appear over her.

The white-coated alicorn spun around in her new outfit, seeing the end of the dress somehow missing the water's edge as if it was designed not to get wet.

Celestia sighed, seeing her outfit. "Can't say I was ever much for formal wear, and look at my mane?" The Princess's hoof attempted to untangle the beehive her hair had been turned into, seemingly unbothered by her lack of wings.

Luna looked down at her reflection, and she couldn't help but burst into laughter. "It is certainly a bit different from our usual look. Though, I dare say we look more like princesses than we have in the past."

Princess Celestia looked down at her reflection, seeing her mane tied up, the dress, and a cute little sparkling gold tiara on her head. "I suppose it does make us look more regal…but it's still over the top if you ask me."

Luna was willing to concede that point but shifted her attention to the forest ahead, Celestia following suit.

With a quick look and nod, the pair slowly trotted forward, hopefully, ready for whatever they might encounter.

It took a few hours as they continued to look across the sky, now blocked by branches and tree leaves. The oath seemed straightforward, but they appeared to trot around in circles; worse, they didn't have wings, so they couldn't fly above the canopy or use their horns to move the branches. Add on their dresses and stylized manes getting caught on every other tree; it made an otherwise casual stroll into an exercise in patience.

Princess Luna was the first to break a little, tugging her mane free from the eighth branch in the last five minutes" Ugh, it would appear we underestimated this challenge. Forcing us to wear such restricting attire in such an environment was far more devious than we thought."

Celestia turned to her sister and tried to reassure her. "Indeed, though there's little we can do about it now… we just need to keep going. As long as we press forward, we'll reach the castle. Besides, at least we aren't dressed as clowns anymore."

Looking back at her dress, Luna groaned, "I suppose you're right, sister; I can't imagine trying to ride a unicycle through this forest." Her eyes stared onward, looking at the seemingly never-ending brush before them. "Though, is pressing ahead really all we can do? Are we even certain we're heading in the right direction?"

Her sister didn't know how to respond as she felt stuck with the same question. It wasn't as though they could keep going on indefinitely.

As if to answer, the foliage around them began to shake with life before countless animals emerged from the woods. Unlike back at the makeshift town, these critters seemed more compelled by curiosity than instinct or aggression.

Luna blinked as if she seemed to remember something, bent her head down to the creature's level, held out a hoof, and whispered, "Hey, it's ok. No pony is going to hurt you."

The rabbits and other animals came hurrying over, chipmunks and squirrels scampered onto her dress, and some baby deer came out to kiss and nuzzle her. An owl even nestled into her mane, making the former Princess giggle., "Oh my! I certainly didn't expect this!"

Celestia couldn't help but smile, only to let out a squeak when some squirrels ran up her dress, then gasped as a fox leaped onto her back. She was somewhat surprised by their behavior. Outside of Fluttershy, animals were usually less friendly.

"I suspect Discord's magic might be at work again. It seems it's not just the plants and water we need to worry about?"

Luna didn't seem to agree, happily petting a small possum she held like a foal while the owl perched in her mane. "Sister, I believe, even for our current situation, that seems a little too far-fetched, don't you think?"

The Princess of the Moon seemed to light up momentarily as she mused over something. "Say, perhaps we could give singing a try?"

"Why would we do that?" Celestia now wondered if perhaps the magic was affecting Luna for proposing such a random idea.

Luna gave a baby deer nearby a pat on the head as she explained, "A long time ago when we were fillies, there was a fairy tale about how princesses could sing to animals when others were lost in the woods, which helped them guide them to their castle. Do you remember it?"

Celestia paused as she reminisced for a bit; for some reason, she could recall that storybook, though the exact details were a bit hazy. "Now that you mention it, I do remember…do you think maybe we left it in our old library, and the Chaos Magic that has afflicted this forest has used it to make the Everfree Forest into something similar to the story."

"It's certainly no less likely than anything else we've seen Discord do with his magic," Luna mused as she quietly petted the deer. "And if that is the case, then it's likely we're the Princesses from the tale, hence our change in attire."

The alicorn princess sighed long and said, "We have been trotting for hours; this may be our best course of action."

The former Princess of the Sun cleared her throat and then started to hum a tune. Soon the animals began to dance around the alicorns. The two were then pushed forward down the path. The two were then slowly escorted, trotting down a path, and they eventually came to the edge of the woods.

Princess Luna felt a proud smirk appear on her face, satisfaction dripping from her expression., "I told you I was right."

Celestia's cheeks flushed pink as Luna started to hum alongside her, and they continued to trot through the woods together, both looking somewhat embarrassed regarding their situation.

It wasn't long until they came to the edge of the forest, where the animals suddenly dispersed, and the two were now staring at a massive hedge maze. The hedges towered over them, having to be over a hundred feet, with massive vines curling through the foliage and red and pink roses blooming.

"Well, this doesn't seem too bad?" Luna replied.

Celestia looked up, straining her neck so her eyes could see the top of the hedge. "Yes, just a hedge maze…hopefully."

Entering with some slight trepidation, the two princesses began to trot through the maze.

Barely a few yards in vines started to grow out from the hedges. Celestia eyed them and then quickly jumped out of the way as a vine tried to tangle them. Luna skipped over them, doing her best to avoid the fast-growing weeds., "I don't remember this in this story!?"

"Just run!"

The two continued to speed through the mass of vines dodging and weaving through anything that attempted to trap them. Then out of nowhere, a giant hedge grew between the two.

Celestia looked up at the wall of foliage now separating her from her sister." Luna!"

"Celestia!"

The former Princess of the Sun sighed. "Thank goodness, can you stand?"

"So long as no more vines show up, then yes. It would appear we'll need to keep moving separately from her sister."

Celestia wished she'd had her horn to burn through the wall but sighed, knowing that wasn't an option. "Very well, but if you are in trouble, scream as loud as possible, and I'll come running no matter what comes."

"Ok, now hurry, the vines are still coming!"

Celestia looked behind her and saw a mass of vine-like tentacles sprouting. The alicorn had no choice but to keep moving forward if she didn't want to be caught.

She galloped through the hedge maze with one last glance at where her sister was.

The trek proved more challenging as the walls of vines continued to chase her like a horde of snakes. Yet after what felt like an hour of running, she finally found the end of the labyrinth and was greeted by a castle, not unlike the one a child would find in one of their storybooks. The sight relieved her, and she almost dropped to give her aching legs a break. However, to her horror, she found Luna, who'd also seemingly escaped the maze, had somehow been tangled up within the mass of withering vines slowly wrapping around her.

"Sister, help!"

Celestia didn't hesitate for a second as she galloped back into the maze and took hold of her sister's hoof, pulling with all her might." Let my sister go!"

With a hard yank, Celestia managed to tear Luna away from the vine's grasp, and the two collapsed, the remaining vines retreating into the maze.

Both princesses took several seconds to catch their breath, thankful to finally be free from the maze, before finally looking up at the castle.

After her experience with the vines, Luna looked utterly drained, her dress ripped and covered in mud, while her previously tied mane was haphazardly hanging all around. "Please, let that be the last of these agonizing challenges."

They were both out of breath as they went through the front entrance. Celestia took a few breaths and said, "Hopefully, that's the end of the trials."

Luna sadly didn't look optimistic about their chances. "Knowing our luck, I doubt, at this point, all we can do is hope for the best and, if all else fails, bulldoze our way through."

The two sisters looked worn out and breathless, but the two pressed forward toward the castle doors.

The two sisters slowly entered the castle and were now in a massive ballroom. The floor was made of marble tiles, with a chandelier hanging overhead, illuminating the room with hundreds of candles. However, the two suddenly gasped at each other as the floor broke out.

The tiles shifted and moved about until they formed a rather random-looking pattern that led up to another room above them.

"Sister, it's been a few thousand years, so my memory is a bit hazy. Was this in the story?" Luna asked, eyeing the room cautiously.

"No, Luna, there was not." Celestia looked equally unnerved, already sensing something foul likely awaited them. "And unfortunately, I'm unsure what our next action is. The story isn't much help if the magic isn't following it."

Luna attempted to find a solution, scanning the room for some hint as to what they needed. She attempted to look back in her memories of the story for some hint. Anything that could be helpful.

"Hmmm, sister, I might have an idea.

"What is it?"

"This might sound odd, but we may have to dance."

Luna didn't even bat an eye at the look of disbelief on her sister's face. "Look around, sister; this is a ballroom of some kind, and typically, in fairy tales, large dances were held in ballrooms. Thus, it stands to reason we need to dance if we are to advance."

It sounded wild, but it wasn't like they were operating based on standard logic, and her sister's hunch about singing to the animals got them out of the forest. And it wasn't an exceptionally demanding or demeaning request.

So she started to wave her hips and, getting close to her sister, began dancing with Luna, stepping onto the tiles spaced across the void. The pair moved across the room with effortless ease, years of etiquette training finally coming into play, as the room seemed to shift again, stairs reforming as they quickly ascended, without breaking their stride until they'd finally reached the top.

The room was small, with a few cupboards filled with porcelain, and in the middle was a simple tea table with two cups of still-simmering tea sitting on a platter.

Celestia trotted over and saw a little note near the table. "Drink this tea and wait until noon?" To her surprise, she looked up to see a clock with both arrows pointing at eleven. They would have to sit here and drink tea for an hour to progress.

"Finally, an easy challenge!" Luna sighed as she plopped onto her seat and seemed to relax as she began to sip a cup, only for Celestia's magic to stop her.

"Sister, I believe we've long established there's no such thing as an easy challenge in this situation." Between the long trek through the woods in restrictive clothing to the murderous maze, expecting things to be simple now was a luxury they couldn't afford.

Under normal circumstances, Luna would have agreed with her sister. Still, several hours of running and fighting had worn away at her patience as she ripped the cup away. "Sister, you sound paranoid. Surely a sip or two couldn't hurt?"

Celestia couldn't get a word in before Luna took a long slurp from the cup, letting out a content sigh as she finished. "Ah….I needed that more than I imagined. And see sister, nothing bad happened."

The Princess still waited with bated breath for something to happen. A trap to spring, something catching on fire or shapeshifting…anything. Yet after more than two minutes of painful silence, nothing changed.

Drained beyond measure, Celestia finally plopped down and sighed in defeat. "Seems I might've been wrong for once…and I need this." Celestia brought over one of the cups and finally took a drink, enjoying the warm liquid going down her throat and warming her sore body.

Luna took a seat next to her sister, enjoying the moment. "These trials have weighed heavily on us, Celestia. Tis the first time I've truly felt my age."

"Believe me; I know, Luna." Celestia sat beside her sister and wrapped a hoof around her shoulder. "Sadly, we can't relax until this world is put right…then maybe we can enjoy a nice long vacation."

Though that brought a brief smile, it still left the pair silent, save for the ticking clock and little else to do.

"Celestia tell me something…why couldn't you find anypony to take the Elements of Harmony?"

"Hmm," Celestia asked.

Luna looked her sister square in the eye, almost accusatory. "I understand things were difficult, shouldering my responsibilities as well as your own, yet in all that time, you were unable to find anypony worthy to wield the elements?"

Celestia didn't even act surprised at the question, having anticipated it for some time." Believe me, Luna; I tried; centuries I spent searching so we'd be ready. Unfortunately, it was not up to me; the Elements chose their wielder, not vice versa."

"Hmm, a convenient excuse," Luna muttered, not accepting such an idea, and Celestia quickly picked up the hint.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry, the mystical elements older than even the two of us happen to have their minds. Need I remind you, sister, we didn't create them?" Celestia's tone snapped back, Luna narrowing her eyes in response.

"All I'm saying, Celestia, is it certainly sounds like a helpful way to shield yourself from legit criticism over your most crucial responsibility in a thousand years."

"Oh, you want to talk about criticism? You're the one who attacked me in the first place. If you felt you weren't getting enough attention, you should've spoken to me instead of throwing a destructive temper tantrum.

"TANTRUM!" Luna practically exploded angrily, her royal voice shaking the room without damaging the cups on the table. "I served this country faithfully as one of its protectors, yet none of my efforts were appreciated. I had more than cause to be angry."

"And in doing so, you acted in a way that ultimately left our kingdom with one less ruler and rendered the Elements useless," Celestia responded with equal fire, staring down her angry sister as before. "I am sorry that you felt neglected; I truly mean that, but how you responded was foolish, and I would hope 1000 years on the Moon would've taught you that."

Luna didn't offer a retort yet glared at her sister.

"You abandoned me! And forgot about me!"

"Don't you dare blame your turning into Nightmare Moon on me!"

"Maybe I am! Maybe if you would have treated me like a sister, we wouldn't be like this!"

Celestia was searing in rage; she stomped off and was about to leave the room. But she stopped rather suddenly, then slowly turned to the note and the tea sitting on the table and whispered, "Luna…the…the tea…."

"Yeah, what about it?" Luna had since turned her back to her sister, refusing to meet her in the eye.

“The challenge…this tea… I think it's influencing us to be…."

"Honest and mean?"

Celestia almost growled at her sister but shook it off. "No…not honesty, this isn't honesty. We're just being vile to each other."

Luna seemed to be at least considering what was said, finally looking at her sister again before a glance at the tea caused her eyes to widen in realization. "All these years we've been bottling up these thoughts for so long, I guess this tea just let them all out at once."

Part of Luna wanted to hurl the teacup at the nearest wall but settled for simply pouring it on the floor. "I am sorry about what I said, sister. It's just…with everything that's happened, it's hard not to want to point hooves at somepony."

"Believe me, Luna, I understand. Hopefully, this will be the last challenge we have to face."

The former Princess of the night laid herself into her sister. "Yes, though I suppose this did help us sort through our issues a little. Though next time we should hire a therapist…I think we both need one at this point."

Celestia couldn't help but smile and hug her sister close, and they waited until the doors opened up, and the two princesses trotted through the doors.

The two now found themselves slowly trotting up a massive flight of stairs, which seemed to be leading them up to the central tower they'd seen previously. The pair continued to ascend until finally reaching another room, only to find this room lacked any window or door, meaning their progress was once again halted.

Luna groaned as she threw her hooves in the air. "UGH, this is infuriating. How many more ridiculous tasks must we endure before this is over."

Celestia wasn't as sure, looking around the room for some exit but finding none. "Calm down, Luna; this is simply another test we need to complete. And every test has a solution of some kind; we just need to figure out what it is."."

Luna sighed as she plopped down on one of the stairs and asked, "So this is like an escape room?"

"Seems the case. Meaning, we'll have to search every inch of this room if we want to find an exit."

Celestia started pulling books from their shelves, dashing objects about, moving pictures, and looking over porcelain statues. But nothing seemed to work.

After over an hour, the pair plopped together on a nearby bed, Luna practically slamming her head against the pillow. "What if this wasn't a test but a trap? Maybe we weren't worthy and are now trapped here for eternity."

"Don't give up, sister; I'm sure there's a way out of this."

Luna barely lifted her head, looking almost wholly defeated at this point.

"How, we tore the room apart, and there are no keys, no locks, and the books are useless drives., This is just a tower. It doesn't even have a bathroom."

That seemingly random observation finally caused something to click for Celestia. "Luna, do you remember this room from the storybook?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "I think the Princess got locked in a tower and had to wait a hundred years for a prince to rescue her. And sadly, we don't have any princes coming for us."

"That's not necessarily what I meant, sister," Celestia spoke As she looked at a nearby wall, noticing there was a window they'd somehow missed in their efforts. "What if we jumped?"

Luna shot up almost immediately." Without our wings or horns!? Are you crazy!?"

"Perhaps, but at this point, I believe it might be our only option." Celestia walked towards the window and peered out, looking down below. "As it is, we don't have many other options. Perhaps the final task is a matter of trust, both in ourselves and that the Elements wouldn't lead us astray."

Luna wanted to say it was insane, but after looking around at the ruined room, they were clearly out of options. So, hesitantly, she walked over and took her sister's hoof.

"This is crazy; you know that, right?"

Celestia only chuckled as the two approached the window and peered down at the grass below. The former Princess of the night looked scared. "Are you sure?"

Celestia nuzzled her and whispered, "I'm sure, trust me, it's not going to be like the story. We'll rescue each other as we always have."

Luna held onto her sister regardless and closed her eyes. Celestia then gave a deep breath as she pulled Luna and jumped towards the ground. The two suddenly fell, their dresses billowing around them as they headed toward the ground.

Two pairs of eyes rapidly blinked as the two suddenly woke up and saw that they were back in the middle of a room and turned to see six familiar-looking jewels.

"It worked…." Luna almost refused to believe it, half expecting the Elements to blow away like a cloud of smoke. Yet Celestia could pick up one, the Element of Magic, which remained.

"Yes, Luna, we finally found them." Celestia smiled more considerably than she had in a long time, tears leaking from her eyes as she looked upon what would finally be their salvation. Luna was equally emotional, hugging her sister happily so they'd succeeded at least.

The pair spent several minutes standing, just soaking in their success before tearing off a piece of their dresses and using them as a makeshift bag before finally returning the way they came. Surprisingly this proved much easier as the hedge maze parted for them, and it almost seemed like the trees of the forest pulled themselves back, all to ensure as smooth a journey as possible.

What had previously taken several hours of almost backbreaking labor only took the two former monarchs a single hour before they finally returned to the village, with an awestruck Twilight there to greet them.

"Y… you found them!?"

Both princesses nodded happily, holding up the bag with the Elements in tow; however, before they could celebrate, they noticed something resting near Twilight.

It was a glass bottle filled with sparkling water and a letter nearby.

"For any enchanted by the forest, drink this."

Celestia gasped as she lifted the bottle to her face, "So this water will return ponies to normal?"

"Hopefully, let's find out," Luna spoke, eagerly drinking the contents.

The results were quick, as it wasn't long until a horn and a pair of wings grew out, and she flew to the river to look at her reflection. "Oh, my Faust! My horn and wings are back! Oh, how I've missed this."

Seeing things were safe, Celestia drank the water and waited. It wasn't long until she felt her horn resprout upon her head and her wings growing back. The sight of them and a quick flex brought a sense of relief to the Princess. "Oh, thank Faust, finally."

Luna looked over herself in the river and saw her wings and horn were back, and they were both back in their previous clown attire. Still, clowns or noti, the former princesses were relieved to have their missing appendages back and started throwing confetti in the air.

Meanwhile, Twilight slowly trotted over, transfixed by the six jewels that now lay on the ground. The violet alicorn picked them up, practically squealing at seeing them. "I can't believe you found them!?"

Celestia turned towards her and hugged her close to her chest. "We did! And not just that…" She hugged her sister, "I feel like we made a huge step closer to getting things back to normal!"

Luna nuzzled her sister and said, "I'm glad we're together and alive."

Twilight stood between the two other alicorns rather awkwardly while completely enveloped in Celestia and Luna's soft coats.

The moment they lasted for about a minute before they finally split up and shifted focus to more pressing matters.

Twilight carefully picked up the vial of disenchanting water. "Now we just need to figure out how to use this. There isn't enough to give to every pony in this forest."

Twilight's eyes then drifted over to the river Luna and Celestia had previously entered, and a thought entered her head. Trotting over, she poured a small amount of the water into the river, which caused it to shimmer more brightly than before, only dying down after a moment, with the water now shining a different color.

Cautiously, Twilight dipped her hoof into the water before pulling it out again. As expected, her hoof was unchanged. Twilight quickly retrieved another vial to fill up before splashing some water on another transformed pony, restoring him to normal.

"Looks like mixing the disenchantment water ended up purifying it and creating more. Now we can cure everypony in the forest."

Filling up another vial, Twilight turned their attention back to the princesses. "Now that we've got the elements and this water, there's still something else we need to take care of back at the village.

The three alicorns trekked through the enchanted forest and eventually came across a massive cave. There they could hear something snoring loudly from within. Zecora pointed a paw toward the source of the noise. "This is the ally named Fluttershy?"

"Pony? A pony can snore like that?" Luna whispered.

Twilight nodded and explained, "She's not a pony now. As I said before, my friend was transformed into a bear. I've tried to coax her out of the cave and convince her of who she was…but nothing's worked."

Recalling the disenchantment water, Celestia trotted towards the cave. A twig snapped under her hoof before they heard a low growl.

A massive yellow bear came forward with glaring green eyes. She roared and charged at Celestia, who stood her ground. With quick and practiced ease, Celestia lifted the water bottle, and a quick flick splashed some of it into the beast's face.

The former monarch blinked as the giant; angry bear shrank to a meek-looking, yellow-coated pegasus. "Wh..what happened? Where am I?"

Twilight ran over and exclaimed, "Fluttershy!"

A look of panic and anger returned to the pegasus, who immediately shoved Twilight away and retreated closer to the cave. "Get back!"

While remembering the situation, Twilight took a small step forward to try and get through to her friend. "Fluttershy, listen..y…you were enchanted and turned into a bear. We turned you back to normal."

Fluttershy eyed her, "Or maybe you turned me into one and have come to rescue me so that I would feel grateful to you?"

Luna decided to take a step in and offer a second voice. "She speaks the truth, dear Fluttershy. We are merely here to help you."

The pegasus rolled her eyes and then scoffed, "The only pony I trust is myself; you can't rely on anypony to save you."

She returned to her cave, but Luna held up a hoof, "Fluttershy."

The pegasus turned around, and upon getting a better look at Luna, she got into a defensive stance. "Nightmare Moon!?" she turned to Twilight and exclaimed, "You sold me out to Nightmare Moon!"

"What, no!? Of course not!"

Luna took a few more steps forward and tried her hoof again at diplomacy." I was Nightmare Moon, but I am no longer Princess Luna. Like you, I was once alone, scared, afraid, and distrustful of everypony."

"Yeah and? Why would I trust you? After everything in Equestria, why should I listen to anything you say?"

"Because I'm here to give you a choice. If you sulk in this cave and try to hide from everypony, you'll be like the bear you once were. Alone and angry." Luna stepped closer and offered a hoove to Fluttershy. "Please, at least give us a chance to earn your trust before you cast us aside."

Fluttershy eyed them, mentally weighing her options now that she could think again." I'll come with you, but we're not friends!" She trotted along, watching them as they followed through the woods.

As the larger group continued onward, Celestia noticed Twilight seemed quite downtrodden. The reunion didn't go as planned.

Twilight didn't answer at first, still eying Fluttershy from behind, only able to sigh at sight." I should've expected this, but it still hurts."

"I understand," Celestia whispered. "But I'm sure you can be friends if you get her to open up."

"Hopefully, it still hurts seeing her like this."

The white-coated alicorn could only offer her pupil a kind nuzzle in response. "I'm sure one day she will return to how you remember her; just be patient."

Twilight sighed, looking up at Celestia, and said, "Thanks, you're right; for now, we should go find anypony who's been enchanted and have them drink some of this water."

"Of course, and then we'll find your other friend. Applejack is next, right?"

"Right…" Twilight picked up a vial of the enchanted river water and said, "I believe I have a plan to get you into her tea party."

Chapter Nine: Dreams & Nightmares

Princess Celestia and Luna flew through the skies as they approached the massive pink clouds that hung above most of Equestria.

As they drew closer, the clouds quickly started to become thicker and harder to fly through. Soon they were standing atop a sea of pink, fluffy clouds. Soft, pink cotton candy stuck to their hooves, and a sugary sweet smell hung in the air.

Luna sniffed, shifted her head around with a curious look, and asked, “What are these clouds made of again?”

Celestia, recognizing the smell of cotton candy almost instantly as it was, looked at her sister perplexed. “How could you forget this is cotton candy; these clouds were created by Discord and have been raining sweets on us back in Canterlot. They’ve been like this since Discord took over Equestria.”

Luna gasped at the realization and looked around back, “I cannot believe that these are those same clouds, but at the very least, they gave us sustenance during our imprisonment.”

The former Night Princess quickly took a few bites of the clouds as they continued onward, Celestia choosing to abstain.

They trotted across the bouncy pink clouds for a few minutes before eventually coming upon a massive wall of stacked ice cream bars.

The sight left Luna with a furious, twitching eye. “What is that dastardly spirit’s obsession with sugary treats? Does he even enjoy these sorts of things?”

Celestia opted to just press on. “I find it best not to question it, sister. Chaos doesn’t have to make sense, as he’d say.”

The two approached the wall and spotted what appeared to be the gate, along with another interesting sight.

A green-coated pegasus with a blonde mane was sleeping behind a pedestal, lazing back and snoring soundly. The two princesses looked at each other and then shrugged as Princess Celestia came forward and whispered, “Um, hello?”

The pegasus woke up with a yawn as he stretched his limbs and then snapped. “Who dares wake me from my na-”

Upon seeing the two princesses, his eyes grew wide. “Woah clowns!? Where the heck did you come from? I don't remember inviting any clowns?”

Luna stomped a hoof and snapped, “We are the princesses, you fool!”

The guard looked a bit closer at the pair before his eyes widened, and he almost immediately bowed. “You really are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!?”

The two alicorns let out sighs of relief, seeing they were recognized by their former authority.

Celestia then asked, “Yes, we are the former rulers of Equestria, and what is your name?”

The green pegasus quickly got back to his hooves and smoothed back his mane, trying to look more professional. “Oh, me? My name is Zephyr Breeze, the guardian of Cloudtopia and Keeper of the Gate.” His hoove gestured to the gate in question. “But enough about that. So, since you two aren’t technically rulers anymore, how about you stick around and we get to know each other better?”

The alicorn was taken aback by the stallion's attempt to flirt with her and was about to say something back. Still, Luna quickly came forward and asked, “Yes, we are the former princesses who have come to find a pegasus in Cloudesdale if this land is still called that.”

Seeing neither princess was in the mood, Zephyr nodded quickly with a yawn.“Well, we renamed the city to Cloudtopia, but yeah, this was Cloudesdale.”

Celestia's eyes lit up at the confirmation, though she was still left perplexed, “Cloudtopia? Why did you rename it?”

Zephyr shrugged his shoulders. “Not totally sure, to be honest. I wasn’t paying attention then, but hey, the name’s pretty sweet regardless, am I right?”

Neither Luna nor Celestia were sure how to respond as Zephyr continued to ramble.

“Cloudtopia is the best city in all of Equestria, with tons of food, everypony just sleeps all day, and there’s no work! So how about you and I go somewhere private, sweet cheeks.”

Celestia reared her head, gagging at the pet name, and was about to say something quite vulgar, but Luna quickly stepped in. “Listen, you oaf, my sister and I are on urgent business to find a particular pegasus named Rainbow Dash. Would you happen to know her by chance?”

The pegasus yawned. “Dash….Dash, uh, give me a minute.” With the speed of a turtle, he pulled out a massive book and quickly started looking through its pages. The sight only served to further irritate the two princesses, with only the shout of a mare getting them to calm themselves.

“Zephyr!”

The stallion squeaked as orange-coated pegasus flew down and gave him a rather annoyed glare as she continued. “Did I not tell you to inform me if and when somepony approaches the gate? It’s literally your only job.”

Zephyr immediately shrunk under the former Wonderbolt’s angry gaze, sweating at being yelled at.”

“Yeah, but they caught me on my na- I mean break.”

Spitfire rubbed her head, having long accepted such behavior was simply unavoidable with said stallion. “Just go lie down, and I’ll take care of orientation, okay?”

“Fine, guess another nap wouldn’t hurt,” Zephyr yawned as he stretched his limbs, then flew over and threw himself onto some of the clouds. The orange-coated mare turned towards the alicorns and bowed, “I apologize for my subordinate; he can be quite the hoofful.”

Celestia’s anger subsided, happy to be speaking to a more competent pony for a change.``Well, thankfully, it was only a minor distraction. Though, who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

The mare bent her head and gave a tired yet somewhat relieved look. “It’s Spitfire, your grace.”

The former princess went wide-eyed, recognizing the previous captain of the Wonderbolts. More surprising, said Pony was famous for being harsh and rather loud, especially with insubordinate soldiers. Yet, this tired, soft-spoken mare was nothing like how she was before.

Luna quickly strode up to Spitfire with her own questions. “I don’t mean to be rude, Spitfire, but is it wise to have this Zephyr keep guard of your city? He does not seem reliable?”

Spitfire nodded along tiredly as she yawned. “Oh, I understand how it looks. Despite how he appears, Zephyr is one of the more reliable pegasi here. Most of them, even some of my former Wonderbolts, are lazier than he is most of the time, and I’m not too worried about security. Nothing’s come to threaten the city since Discord first appeared.”

Celestia gave a sigh of relief and replied, “Well, that’s good to hear.” However, internally, she felt concerned about the apparently rampant lethargy among the Pegasi.

“We need assistance,” Luna spoke firmly, keeping things on track. “We’re looking for a pegasu-”

“Rainbow Dash, I heard.” Spitfire flew over, and pulled out a small book she started flipping through. “Here it is, Rainbow Dash, age twenty, gender female, occupation formerly employed as weather manager for Ponyville, cutie mark unknown.”

Shutting the small tome, she guided the pair towards the gate. “It shouldn’t be too tough to find her, though I recommend we stick together to simplify it. Come on in.”

With a simple push of a nearby button, the massive gates opened up, allowing Spitfire to lead them through the outer wall. However, they were barely a few feet in before another stallion flew over and saluted, “Morning, Spitfire.”

“Morning Soarin. Are you doing well?”

“Yeah, just a bit tired, but aren’t we all?” The stallion yawned with visible bags under his eyes, yet still kept up a bright smile.

“Well, if you need to take a nap, go ahead. Also, did you bring some snacks in case you get hungry?”

Soarin laughed, taking out a saddle bag filled with apple pies. “Yup, I'm all set!”

“That’s good. I have to escort the former princesses to their suites and help them locate a specific pegasus. Just keep an eye out for anypony else and try to keep Zephyr from screwing around too much, okay?”

“Got it!” Soarin yawned as he looked at the princesses, quickly wide-eyed, and cried. “Wait, they’re still alive!?”

The two alicorns eyed each other curiously at the statement. “Sister, do you recall any mention or rumor about our demise?” Luna asked, genuinely curious.

Celestia, in turn, shook her head in the negative. “No, I certainly would’ve remembered that.”

Fearing he might’ve offended the two, Soarin immediately bowed, practically shoving his head into the cloud he was standing on. “Please forgive my ignorance. It’s a true pleasure to have you here. You both will be safe here in Cloudtopia for as long as you like!”

Both alicorns gave each other sheepish looks, having forgotten all the clout their names once carried.

“No need for formalities, please; we are both in a hurry,” Celestia spoke calmly to the stallion, who thankfully pulled his head back up and headed to the gate after a gesture from Spitfire.

Spitfire, yawning again, nodded and gestured with her hoof. “Right, we should try to stay on topic. Though, it seems like you two got caught up with some Chaos Magic yourselves?”

Both of the princesses looked over their attire, and then Celestia sighed, “Sadly, we have been Discord’s playthings for the past year.”

Spitfire groaned, still glaring somewhat at the sticky and sweet clouds they were standing on. “Sorry to hear it. My team and I would’ve come to help, but everything went completely nuts when Discord showed up, and we struggled to keep the city together.”

The fiery mare’s expression briefly seemed to age considerably as she recalled prior events before shaking them off and trying to look professional. “Come on, I'll show you where you’ll be staying. I imagine you two would like to rest briefly after how far you had to come.”

Luna and Celestia considered protesting, but they also wished to recover, if only for a little bit, before continuing on their quest.

The duo followed Spitfire through the city and were astounded by what they saw; the place looked amazing!

The land was covered in massive mansions and fountains bubbling with a frothy pink liquid, some brown, others a creamy white, others a fizzy black.

Curious, Celestia trotted over, took a drink, and squeaked as it tasted like a strawberry milkshake. Luna tried the black fizzy liquid spouting from the fountain, took a sip, and then cried, “What is this? It's so sweet!?”

Celestia took a sip and said, “Oh, that's cola. It's a new beverage made by ponies while you were imprisoned, sister.”

Luna took another sip. “Well, it is good. And this tingling sensation on my tongue, it’s positively wonderful. However, it could use something else. Maybe mix it with vanilla or cherry?”

“Yes, that would help balance the flavor.” Celestia chimed back, having had similar thoughts in the past. The thought made her smile slightly despite exhaustion and being somewhat pressed for time.

She couldn’t help but appreciate Luna trying out new, bizarre experiences, especially given that Luna had only returned from her banishment relatively recently and then spent much of her time freed in Discord’s cage.

Moving on from the fountains, the pair soon came upon fields of pastries, cakes, pies, cupcakes, and doughnuts. Despite the two having lived off the sweets for a year, both practically drooled at the sight and continued upon seeing mountains of ice cream where foals played, rolling down them like they were snow slopes as they threw ice cream balls at each other.

“Seems my assessment of Discord’s sweet obsession was accurate if a bit downplayed.” Luna couldn’t help but marvel at the fantastical scene before her. “Yet, I still can’t help but wonder why this specifically?”

The pair pondered this as they moved further onwards, eventually coming upon a mass of dark clouds, but they cast a velvet blue light. They looked around to see pegasi lazing about, casually chomping away at clouds and sleeping, not doing much else.

Finding her charges curious, Spitfire opted to fill in some of the blanks. “This is the town square where pegasi can relax and enjoy themselves. We mostly just nap.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the drowsy ponies. “Forgive me, sister, but I don’t recall Pegasi being so lethargic when I was last here. Was this common in more recent years?”

Celestia shook in the negative. “No, Pegasi was arguably the most active of the three tribes today. I suspect Discord has a hand in this.”

The Princess of the Sun flew up to the velvet blue clouds, sniffed and found it gave off a strange hint of Lavender. “Spitfire. Are these clouds making you all so sleepy?”

Spitfire shrugged, “Wish I knew; unfortunately, most of the weather ponies are too tired to analyze them. For now, best just to avoid them while you can.”

Annoyed, Luna fluttered over the sleeping pegasi as she whispered to Celestia, “I have to admit, dear sister, your hypotheses that those clouds might cause this sleepiness might be true. We must make sure to stay clear of them, or we'll fall to the same fate.”

“Agreed. We best be on our guard. This land almost seems designed to tempt us into complacency. We can’t allow it to get us.”

Careful to avoid the blue clouds, the group continued forward, passing more sleeping pegasi or the occasional one snacking on something sweet. This was practically all they saw for several minutes.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but what do you do all day?” Celestia asked, hoping to glean more information.

As they walked, Spitfire shrugged, then said, “Sleep, Eat, and play mostly; the clouds generate themselves, and the weather factory has been running on its own, so there’s no need for us to do anything, really. Especially since we know picking a fight with Discord won’t accomplish anything.”

Despite the somewhat comfortable-sounding situation, Spitfire sounded almost defeated, lacking any of the…well fire she should’ve had.

The trio continued on, eventually coming up to a mansion made of cotton candy clouds. Spitfire quickly pulled out some keys…which appeared to be made of gummies, and handed them to the pair. “Here you are! This one is brand new; they sort of just spawn out of nowhere and are fully furnished. So you shouldn’t have any problem relaxing for a bit.”

Luna bowed her head. “Thank you for showing us our accommodations, but we must be on our way soon; you did say you would help us find Rainbow Dash.”

Spitfire took a pause to yawn before nodding.“No need for that; it's an honor to serve you. I will find Rainbow Dash and inform you of her location. Just stay here until I can, okay?”

“That works for us, thank you.” Celestia responded, deciding not to waste more time arguing or going on a wild goose chase.

Spitfire nodded and left as the two former princesses entered the parlor. They saw a banquet of sweets spread out, along with smaller fountains like the ones in the town square.

One of the rooms was opened, revealing two rather large and lavish cloud beds made up for them.

Both sisters fought the urge to lay down for a nap and opted to try some of the provided treats. Celestia drank a cup of strawberry milkshake while Luna drank some cola.

“Tis yet another strange situation we find ourselves in, dear sister,” Luna spoke, a bit of soda around her lips. “We search for another Element Bearer, and now, instead of finding them ourselves, we merely wait and lounge about, enjoying sweets. It feels…wrong given all we’ve seen.”

Celestia didn’t answer initially; instead, she poured herself a cup of cola before adding some of her milkshakes to it. “Sister, what are you doing?”

“Oh, this is what ponies call an ice cream float! After we saw the soda fountain, I’d been dying to try it.”

Her concoction created, Celestia took a swing and immediately squealed with delight. “Oh, I haven’t had one of these in years, and it’s as delightful as always.”

While Luna did look intrigued by the drink, she couldn’t ignore her previous point. “Sister, is it really acceptable for us to dabble in mixing treats while Discord continues to sow chaos through the country?”

Celestia took another sip before putting down her treat. “Luna, something I learned in the thousand years you were gone, and I was forced to rule alone is that burning yourself out to accomplish something harms you and everypony around you. We must be patient and conserve our energy in the best ways possible.”

The Princess of the Sun held the drink to her sister, straw tip pointed at her snout. “So, let’s enjoy this moment of reprieve while we can so that we are ready for the next challenge we face.”

Luna, hesitant, took a sip of the straw as her eyes lit up. “That is so good!”

“Yes, ponies have become quite inventive with their foods over the past thousand years. Maybe I can show you more of the delicacies you missed when everything returns to normal.”

“That would be lovely.” Luna took another sip before her face lost some of its luster. “Do you believe things will truly be returned to normal? I must admit, I have my doubts from time to time.”

“We must keep faith with Twilight’s plan. If things do work out, we might not even remember any of this, so we might as well enjoy the simple pleasures while they last.”

Satisfied for the moment, Luna clinked her glass against Celestia’s. “Yes, I agree. If Twilight alters the timeline, this will all be nothing more than a bad dream.”

Celestia sucked down some of her drink; then her eyes lit up at the sweet-tasting liquid. “Well, it wasn’t all bad.”

After finishing her drink, Celestia’s eyes drifted to the bedroom, and an idea formed in her head.

“Since we’ll probably forget this anyway, are you opposed to a little…horseplay?”

Luna, taking a quick moment to finish her own drink, groaned at her sister’s joke. “Terrible pun aside…what did you have in mind?”

Roughly an hour later, Spitfire found herself repeatedly knocking on the door to the sister’s house, but there was no answer.

“Are they asleep? Wouldn’t surprise me if they were, but they did say this was urgent.” Opening the door and heading inside, Spitfire saw the empty glasses and some half-eaten snacks before noticing a small trail of crumbs and sugar leading to one of the bedrooms.

“Huh, maybe they did take a nap.” Spitfire quickly approached the door and opened it up…only to be met with the sight of both Princesses happily hopping up and down on the bed, giggling like a pair of young foals.

The laughter was short, though, as the pair heard her entrance. They immediately stopped bouncing, leaving an awkward silence to hang in the room.

“Uh, I can come another time if you're busy.”Spitfire said almost robotically, unsure how to respond to what she saw.

The two jumped down and adjusted their clown attire, and Celestia quickly replied, “No, we are ready. Please continue with your report; you found Rainbow Dash, I assume?”

Spitfire nodded. “I found her napping in the Cider Fountain.”

“The Cider Fountain?”

“Yeah, it’s not far. Just take a left; she doesn’t do much but nap, so good luck getting her to help out with anything. As for me, I really need some sleep.” She then flew over to one of the beds and plopped on it, and it wasn’t long until she was snoring.

The princesses painedly glanced at the former Wonderbolt with pity before heading out the door.

Flying up, they looked over a valley of pink clouds to see the weather factory.

It was now a massive building field with smokestacks and various odd gears protruding from it. It was maybe double the size of what it was before Discord’s takeover. More surprisingly, It bounced up and down as if it was alive, as massive pink clouds were jutting out from the smoke stacks along with the weird purple clouds.

Celestia said, “It's a bit ominous but mesmerizing simultaneously.”

Luna nodded. “Truly, it is wondrous how everything is beautiful, like the Everfree Forest and Manehattan, but there’s that feeling that there’s some darkness hidden behind such wonder.”

Both agreed that no matter how picturesque everything seemed, there was something hiding just below the surface, and it frightened them.

Picking up the pace a little, they continued to the cider fountain. As described, a blue-coated pegasus with a shortcut rainbow mane and tail was lying on a pool ring floating around in a fountain spouting cider.

Unsure if she was even awake Celestia flapped over and nudged her gently.“Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus groaned, waving a hoof in her face. “Don’t worry, Mom, I got the clouds.”

Princess Celestia's eye twitched, and then she shouted, “Rainbow Dash!”

Despite the raised voice, Dash simply rolled over in her tub.“Mom, I know I'll put red before orange; my mane is literally a rainbow.”

Now more than annoyed, Celestia took a deep breath before screaming with all the might she could.

“RAINBOW DASH, WAKE UP!”

Celestia’s voice boomed through the area, shaking the fountain and the clouds around. Yet, even with that, Rainbow Dash simply yawned, streched out like a housecat and returned to her position in the tub. “Uh…lunchtime?”

“How can she sleep through the Royal Canterlot Voice?” Celestia shouted as she pulled at her mane, looking about ready to resort to full-blown violence. Luna, however, quickly stepped in front of her. “Sister, please calm yourself.”

Having a moment to cool off, Celestia quickly readjusted her mane and nodded in thanks.

“Right, thank you, Luna. This is proving more difficult than I hoped…perhaps something is making her act this way. Luna, any chance you could perhaps enter her dreams? We may have better luck there.”

Luna eyed the sleeping mare with a hint of trepidation.“I'll try, though I can’t guarantee it’ll work given how long it’s been since I did it.”

The duo pulled Dash’s float in and lifted it from the fountain before Luna took a spot next to the still-sleeping mare.

“Whelp, here goes.” Luna focused magic into her horn, allowing a bubble to appear above Rainbow’s head. With a nod to her sister, Luna jumped into the bubble and Dash’s dream, leaving her sister standing alone, only able to watch on.

The former Princess slowly opened her eyes upon entering, finding herself in a factory filled to the brim with dials and switches. Whistles went off, and rainbows shot out randomly.

It was quite a chaotic scene.

Thankfully Luna didn’t need to search long as Rainbow Dash flew past her, flying all over, trying to manage the systems.

Her target in sight, Luna slowly approached the mare. “Rainbow Dash?”

She turned and cried, “Oh, know! Nightmare Moon! I'm sorry, I was trying to get your special sleep clouds, but they’re too volatile! The cloud-producing machines aren’t meant to hold so much strain!”

Luna blinked a few times, not really understanding what she was saying. “Rainbow, listen, I’m not Nightmare Moon! That…that wasn’t me! My name is Princess Luna.”

Rainbow gave a laugh as she stretched the back of her mane, now able to see the difference with the Princess. “Pr…princess Luna…yeah uh, I knew that!”

Luna smirked, then looked around the factory with a face of confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“I uh…um was going over the cloud dispersal but noticed the rainbow gauge fluctuating and becoming volatile! I tried to stop it, but I, uh…oh, forget it. I don’t know what the buck I'm doing.”

Dash practically sank onto the floor as Luna simply observed the chaotic mess before her. “I see…Rainbow Dash, did you always want to work in a Weather Factory?”

Dash gave an indignant huff while kicking a nearby machine, looking less than thrilled. “Not like I have a choice. I'm the worst flier ever, and I needed a job.”

Luna paused, remembering some of the stories Twilight told her about Rainbow Dash. She talked about her dreams to be a Wonderbolt and how she even performed a legendary Rainboom—a stark contrast from what this Rainbow was telling her.

“And, why do you think you're the worst flier ever?”

Rainbow paused, then took out a remote and flicked a massive screen. Luna watched as it showed Rainbow Dash constantly trying to race and ending up crashing.

Dash somberly stared at the ground as the memories played. “Every time I tried to race somepony or tried to improve, I just crashed into something or somepony else, again and again! All the time! Forget being a Wonderbolt, I couldn’t even be a regular weather pony.”

She flicked it off and carelessly tossed the remote over her shoulder. “So I took up a job with my parents at the Weather Factory and have been here ever since. Whether I like it or not.”

Luna eyed the mare with pity, saddened that a pony supposedly known for her never say die attitude had been broken down. “Rainbow Dash, you’re being too hard on yourself. This failure is no fault of your own but outside forces.”

The pegasus chuckled mirthlessly, eyeing Luna with a hollow smirk. “Easy for you to say. No offense, but you’re a princess; what do you know about failure?”

Her question caused Luna’s brow to twitch, feeling a switch flip in her head as she spread her wings and storm clouds formed behind her. “Did you forget I used to be Nightmare Moon! And almost threw Equestria into an eternal darkness under my rule! I let my jealousy of my sister cloud my judgment and turned myself into a tyrant! Then I allowed that monster Discord to turn me into a clown and became his toy for amusement. What do I know of failure?”

Luna paused, seeing Dash practically glued to a nearby wall out of fear, causing Luna to calm herself.

The clouds behind the princess started to vanish as her face was replaced with a look of shame. “My entire life as of late has been nothing but failure.”

Looking rather surprised by the speech, Dash slowly removed herself from the wall, looking a bit sheepish and unsure how to respond. “Wow, when you put it that way, I guess we’re both kind of screw-ups huh?”

Luna laughed a little at the comment and nodded.“Yes, I suppose that’s an apt description. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t change our situation. And we can start by helping us to save Equestria from Discord.”

“Me!? Why me? I'm nopony. I don’t even have my cutie mark!”

Indeed, a quick glance revealed that despite being an adult, Dash was a Blank Flank.

However, Luna, recalling Twilight’s recalling of events, picked up the previously thrown remote and rewound the tape to when she was a filly, stopping at a particular race against two young stallions. “Dash tell me, do you remember this particular day?”

Rainbow squinted and nodded. “Yeah, I was going to race against some bullies who’d been mean to my friend Fluttershy, but then this unicorn came over and talked to them.”

“A pink unicorn?”

Again Rainbow Dash nodded.“Yeah, this weird pink unicorn mare came out of nowhere, talked to them, and got them to leave Fluttershy alone. It was a little weird, but I only was gonna race them 'cause they were bugging her, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Luna felt her jaw clench as she played the footage and saw the mare she’d spoken to not long ago interfere with past events. Knowing how things had turned out because of this act of arrogance almost made Luna lose her cool, even in spite of having met the mare herself.

For now, there were more pressing matters. She then asked, “Rainbow Dash, listen, this is not what was supposed to happen. Your timeline was altered. You were supposed to race those bullies and unleash a Sonic Rainboom, which would have earned your cutie mark.”

“Seriously!?” Looking utterly floored and even a little excited at the idea.

“Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. And it’s why you must come with me; you are one of the ponies destined to save all of Equestria.”

Despite the brief excitement of the speech, Rainbow Dash still looked hesitant to accept. “I want to, I really do! I just…I don’t know if I have the confidence…”

Luna then threw her wings out as the dream distorted to them. She stood on a puffy white cloud over a clear blue sky. A few miles away was the finish line.

“Why don’t we race?”

“Why?” Dash’s eyes seemed to zero in on the finish line, a small spark visible in her eyes.

“Just to prove yourself, come on!” Luna jumped off the cloud and flew off, and Rainbow Dash hesitated momentarily. Yet as she saw Luna continue towards the goal…something inside her stirred.

With another glance at the screen showing her past failures, Dash sneered at the sight before unfurling her wings and taking off like a rocket. “Ready or not, Princess, 'cause here I come!”

Luna scoffed as she pressed herself, yet in a matter of seconds, the two were neck and neck. The sudden change left Luna impressed at Dash's raw speed. She truly did have the potential.

However, there was a problem. Speed of this level wasn’t going to be enough and it wasn’t the real issue anyway. No, it was the Rainboom that was needed, and it required something more drastic.

Recalling again what Twilight told her of the event, she had an idea. Using her dream magic, she conjured a small bolt of lightning. Naturally, being dream-based it wouldn’t actually hurt her, but that wasn’t the point.

With a simple thought, the projectile collided with her, and she started to fall letting her wings go limp.

Rainbow Dash paused mid-flight at the sight of the injured royal. “Princess!”

She heard Rainbow cry, and then there was a crack and a loud boom! She saw the Rainboom, like a beautiful aura of color spreading out in a halo, as Rainbow approached her. A massive rainbow streak came off her as she caught Luna before she hit the ground.

“That was awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed, flying out of the apple cider. Luna appeared with a bit of a fright, yet smiled at the sigh of the blue-coated pegasus flying about laughing.

Dash, finally coming down from her adrenaline high, noticed the two alicorns below her. She rubbed her eyes and asked out loud, " Am I still dreaming?”

Celestia shook her head, “No,” the Princess smiled happily as she looked up at the Element of Loyalty.“You are not Rainbow Dash. I am happy to see you are awake.”

Rainbow Dash looked around as she bounced on the pink clouds and nodded, “Yeah, this is Cloudtopia, alright.”

Luna slowly rose and yawned, flexing her wings. “While I’m happy we’ve resolved this matter, we can’t afford to stay ideal. This sleeping curse is quite potent. I still desire nothing more to rest, but we must be on our way.”

Noting their drooping eyes, Dash quickly returned to the ground. “Well, to be fair, these sleeping clouds are not fully Discord’s fault. When you were Nightmare Moon, you entrusted the weather ponies to try to create sleep clouds to use to put rebellions down and make it easier to infiltrate ponies’ dreams. But then Discord's magic made them bigger and uncontrollable, and now they are probably mixed with his cotton candy clouds.”

Luna’s eyes quickly shrunk as her angry sister loomed over her. “Luna…WHY DIDN’T YOU INFORM ME OF THAT DETAIL!?”

“I…I told you before I don’t remember much from being Nightmare Moon, but I swear I didn’t know.” Luna shrunk back a little, feeling like a little foal under her sister’s gaze.

Celestia took a few deep breaths to calm herself and focus. “Apologies. Regardless, we have no time to waste; we need your help, Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that before; what exactly do you need my help with?”

Luna replied, holding up a small bottle of liquid. “We need to go to the Weather Factory and spread this disenchanting water to help disperse the Chaos Magic that's affecting Manehattan and the Everfree Forest. Can you help us?”

The pegasus paused as she said, “Sure, shouldn’t be too much of a problem. However, getting the factory working again will take a lot of horsepower, if you know what I mean. Maybe I can get some of the other pegasi to help.”

Rainbow flew up onto a cloud standing above the crowd as she cleared her throat. “Listen Up, everypony!”

Many of the pegasi groggily looked her way as Rainbow Dash continued. “I get you guys wanna sleep all day; believe me, a part of me loves a good nap, but the Princesses of Equestria have returned!”

Dash threw a hoof to show Celestia and Luna standing behind her. “Right now, they need our help to go and save Equestria. I've been sitting up here long enough, and so have all of you! I get it. It's safe and comfortable up here, but this isn’t living! If we want Cloudsdale back, we must help spread this disenchanting water the Princesses brought!”

Most of the pegasi just blankly looked at them, and some nodded off to sleep. Rainbow sighed, “Yeah, sorry, Princess. I don’t think these ponies are gonna be much help.”

Surprisingly, however, Spitfire flew over and nudged her. “Hey, you can count me in. I'm sick of this place.”

While the Wonderbolt’s presence was somewhat encouraging, looking around the dozens of pegasi just falling back to sleep, Luna felt a pang of guilt as she whispered. “This is all my fault.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nah, not really. Yeah, Nightmare Moon did make those clouds, but the truth is, ever since Cloudsdale turned into this, most of the pegasi here are just too scared to leave. During the first few weeks, everypony was frantic, and those who left Cloudsdale to find friends and family never returned. After a while, I guess we just got too comfortable.”

Celestia trotted over to Rainbow and put a gentlehoof around her shoulder. “You did your best; no pony is blaming you for being afraid; it’s a rational way to feel. And we’ll take anypony who wishes to help.”.

“Oh, if you need help getting the weather factory, then we’ll help too!”
Rainbow groaned as a middle-aged Pegasi couple flew over that looked similar to Rainbow Dash. The mare yawned and bowed. “Name’s Windy Whistles!”

The stallion bowed,” And I’m Bow Hothoof; you already met our daughter Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash flew up, waved her hooves, and exclaimed, “What? No, we don’t need my parents! We can do this on our own! I can help them figure things out!”

The two laughed as Windy replied, “Rainbow, you’re number one in a lot of things, but it's probably best if we tag along.”

“Yeah, we can all use the escape from this place; I can only eat so much Ice Cream and sleep all day; it's crazy to say I miss going to the old weather factory.” Bow looked almost nauseous at the sight of the cotton candy clouds, earning a giggle from his wife.

Windy flew over and nuzzled Rainbow Dash. “Oh, we’re so proud of you helping the princesses!”

“Mom, cut it out!”

This went on for some time as Luna blinked, looking rather confused. Celestia smiled and let out a laugh, “Well, I thank you all for your assistance. Now, let's move on. Hopefully, we can recruit a few more on the way.”

The alicorns and the other pegasi all flew together towards the Weather Factory, hoping that with some effort, things would finally start to work out.

Chapter Ten: The Rains of Harmony

Rainbow Dash led the group to the Weather Factory, being greeted by yet another bizarre sight, namely the assembly lines. While they were normally filled with either clouds, lightning bolts, or rainbows, now they were filled with all kinds of random junk food.

Chips, Cookies, Hay Fries, all manner of unhealthy treats and goodies carted along on the belts, which themselves were moving on their own without a pony to be seen, as if some chaotic poltergeist was operating all the machinery.

The literal deep-fried madness continued as the food on the belts split into several more belts, all of which loaded the various food items into various pink clouds. The clouds absorbed the snacks without issue before being individually pushed off the belt into the air, where they floated overhead and out a massive window into Equestria.

Overall, it was a fairly odd sight, though, if the group was honest, not the weirdest thing they’d seen since Discord had taken over. Rainbow Dash herself seemed more amused by the sight, cackling a little as she watched.

“Junk Food clouds, pretty sure I had a dream about this exact scenario when I was a foal….and you’re absolutely sure we didn’t just fall asleep or something?"

Luna slapped herself, then sighed, “No, it seems we are indeed not dreaming.”

Celestia felt almost numb at this point, her tolerance for the wacky and weird had all but been exhausted and she didn’t have the energy to even react. “I honestly think it’s best not to dwell too long on this, especially since we intend to reverse things.”

Firm focus in hand, Celestia eyed the bizarre set up with a more analytical eye. “But how do we restore the factory to its original state? I doubt sprinkling some disenchanting water on it would do much good.”

“That's a good point, sister. We need to find a way to disperse water across the factory and ensure it covers everything.”

Curious, Rainbow Dash flew around, eyeing the layout of the factory. “Best bet would be the rain system, and if I remember correctly, the control should be…here!”

With a quick rush, she flew over to a massive control panel filled with bright lights and colorful buttons. However, she immediately groaned once she looked at the panel. “Yeah, um, I have zero idea how to make this thing work. Even when I worked here, I never got the controls down.”

Not like that would’ve done her much good now, anyway, given that Discord’s chaotic magic had completely altered the controls. They might as well have been in another language at this point.

“Mom, Dad, can you come help?” Rainbow asked as she waved a hoof to her parents, who flew over. The three studied the panel and even pushed a few buttons.

One caused popcorn to rain on top of them; another sent an eruption of hot fudge out from one of the massive silos. Luna and Celestia both used their magic to keep the molten chocolate far from harming them, and another sent massive balls of cotton candy balls at them, forcing Spitfire and Soarin to work together to knock them aside.

This went on for quite some time, and the four were exhausted from combating the “food.” The last button sent a giant cake on top of them, splattering the ponies with cake and frosting.

Pulling herself out of the pastry, Luna actually let out a low chuckle at the scene.“It seems your cake addiction has returned with a vengeance, sister.”

This got a laugh from Soarin and a chuckle from Spitfire as Celestia wiped the pastry offer face with a grumble. “I swear if we make it out of this, I’ll never eat another piece of cake again….for at least a decade anyway.”

Windy Whistles quickly bowed her head to the two princesses. “I apologize sincerely. My husband and I have worked at the Weather Factory for years, but these controls don’t make any sense. It could take us some time to figure out how it works, and even then, we can’t guarantee if it’ll even work like it did before.”

Celestia sighed as Luna turned. “We don’t really have a choice. Twilight and Trixie are gathering their armies to attack the refugees in the Everfree Forest. So continue experimenting; my sister and I can easily tackle some oversized pastries.”

“Of course, princess.” As Luna trotted to her sister’s side, Windy flew back to her family. “I really do hope every pony is okay.”

Celestia’s eyes drifted to the windows, revealing the vast expanse that was their nation. “We should be down there fighting, but I trust our subjects to stall them, and hopefully, we’ll all come out of this fine.”

Back in Manehattan, Applejack was looking out her window at her toy citizens, now wearing generic “toy army” like uniforms and all equipped with plastic swords and spears.

Honestly, they looked more ready to lose a battle to a foal in a sandbox than fighting in an actual war. Yet, at this point, it was the best she could muster.

Wincing at the thought, her eyes drifted to the borders of her lands. It had been some time since the princesses left, and Trixie was arriving any minute. She was not in a good mood, knowing full well that if Trixie attacked her, there would be little she could do to resist.

And yet, all she could do is bide her time and hope that the princesses plan, whatever it was, would work out in the end.

Those thoughts brought her little comfort as she heard her door slam wide open, Trixie giving herself a grand entrance as she walked inside.

“Greetings, peasant. The Great and Powerful Trixie has come to claim her army!”

Applejack rolled her eyes and held back a snarky remark. She could probably take out Discord if Trixie’s powers were as big as her ego.

“Ah, yes, the army. We did what we could,” She gestured out the window where said force was assembled. “Though we are toys, so I’m not exactly sure how much help we’ll be.”

“Any help is useful, even from toys….that being said,” Trixie replied suspiciously, looking Applejack over, "You seem more alive compared to the last time I saw you. Did you turn yourself back to normal?”

Applejack felt sweat drip from her brow as her eyes darted back and forth, trying to find an excuse.

“Well, it kind of just happened…I, uh, guess whatever Chaos Magic was on me wore off.”

Trixie eyed her suspiciously before shrugging her shoulders.

“I see…well, regardless, I do need a new assistant. My old one betrayed me, and I'd rather you be a normal pony than some lifeless doll.”

Trixie stepped forward and snapped, “Twilight is on the move, and she’s going to take the Everfree Forest! We must act quickly and join her ranks!”

The former doll paused. She needed to stall Trixie to keep her from getting the ponies of Manehattan killed. , “I ca…can’t do that. I mean, none of the ponies here have ever fought before, and look at them.” She waved a hoof at the rather comical-looking army, “We’re simply outmatched!”

As if to emphasize her point, one of the soldiers waved his sword ever so slightly….only for the cheap plastic blade to break off almost immediately, earning an angry eye twitch from Trixie.

Irritated, Trixie huffed angrily. “Shortcomings aside, who really cares. They’re dolls? They can’t feel pain! If a few hundred of them get burned alive by dragons, it's not like they’ll feel it. Also, you forget I have chaos magic!”

She then lit her horn, and the ponies were suddenly in massive bright blue metallic suits, massive shoulder pads with gold rope strung around them, and big purple hats. Their weapons were transformed into massive cannons equipped to their sides, and their once somewhat painted smiles were replaced with dead-looking eyes and ghastly grins.

“Now, my army, do you love Trixie?”

“YES PRINCESS TRIXIE!” The now terrifying legion shouted in unison, actually causing the building to vibrate, leaving Trixie looking quite proud.

“Good, now Princess Twilight is here to stop me from taking over Equestria and as my oh so loyal soldiers how does that make you feel!?”

“ANGRY!”

“Good, now are you afraid to die!?”

“NO!”

A wicked smile appeared on Trixie’s face at the show of blind obedience.

“Will you sacrifice yourselves for me so that we can live in a future where I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, will grant you and everypony you love your heart’s desires!?”

“WE WILL TRIXIE! WE LOVE YOU!”

Applejack stepped back, disgusted that Trixie would sacrifice so many to keep her throne. However, it was hardly out of character for the all-but deranged mare. However, she was still left with the issue of buying the princesses time to rain the disenchanting water on them.

Trixie closed the windows and sighed, “There, that was easy. Now, where are the former princesses? You said you captured them last we spoke.”

Applejack nodded as she approached two massive toy boxes containing lifeless doll replicas of Celestia and Luna. She had them made to their likeness, and hopefully, this would be enough to fool Trixie.

Upon seeing the blue-coated alicorn, I burst out laughing. “Ah, yes, this is perfect! Maybe staying as dolls for a century or two will teach them humility! Perhaps we can have them play tea parties with foals, give them a taste of what it’s like to answer to somepony else for a change.”

The blue mare started to chuckle and giggle with almost deranged amusement as ideas started swirling in her head. “Yes, tea time with princesses would sure win the hearts of every little filly in Equestria!”

Applejack took a minor step back, feeling more concerned for her safety as it seemed Trixie’s sanity waned with every passing minute.

“Um, sure…but before all that, what about you take some time to relax? You’ve traveled such a long way, and it will be a while before Twilight takes the Everfree Forest, whether you help her or not. So why don’t we wait for her?”

Trixie paused. “That…that’s not a bad idea. Twilight doesn’t really have a choice; she has to take down the rebellion and thinks I’ll join her! And it would be wise to challenge her at full strength.”

“Yes, uh…that does sound like a good plan. Maybe instead of joining forces, we should wait for her here?”

Irritated, Trixie stomped her hoof, quickly silencing Applejack, “Stop! And let me think!” She tapped a hoof to her chin, thinking about her options.d “What if instead we wait until her forces are weakened from fighting the rebels before we come from behind and take them down? I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, is such a genius!”

Applejack wanted to roll her eyes as the alicorn preened like a peacock but plastered a smile to her face and said, “Yes, there is nopony as smart as you.”

“Yes, precisely now. I’ll just settle in then!”

With a quick flash of magic, Trixie created a lavish banquet for herself. She quickly began indulging herself, though not before using her magic again, this time to slap a maid outfit onto a very livid Applejack. “And I have to wear this; why exactly?”

Trixie smirked as she swallowed a couple of candy apples. “Just some enchanted clothes; besides, you might as well look the part of a servant since, unlike me, you aren’t royalty. Now come preen my wings! They probably got all bent up from flying so much.”

Applejack was surprised as she curtsied and said, “Yes, Princess Trixie.”

Applejack‘s body then moved on its own, forcing her to start preening the prideful princess’s wings, unable to resist the command. She attempted to fight off the compulsion, yet she continued to preen using her teeth to clean out the dirt and pick out bent feathers from Trixie’s wings, much to the mad mare’s delight.

“I apologize, but as I mentioned earlier, my old maid Rarity betrayed me, and I need reassurance that you won’t either. Now be a good maid and feed me some of those crepes.”

“Yes, your grace.” Applejack spat through gritted teeth.

The former farmer wanted to scream and slam some food into Trixie’s face but could only spoon-feed it instead. All the earth pony could do was hope that Celestia and Luna were close to raining down that enchanted water on them.

Back in the Everfree Forest, the soldiers formed lines and prepared themselves as Shining held drills and made sure they were ready to fight.

His motions were interrupted by the sound of Zecora shouting, “Shining, Twilight is coming! I repeat, Twilight is coming!!”

The zebra was running across the woods when she came to him.

“What did she bring with her?” Shining asked, already mentally preparing himself for what were likely stacked odds.

“She is coming with all her might and with dozens of dragons that have taken flight!”

There were cries of shock and horror from the soldiers within earshot, but Shining barked orders to keep his men in line. However, the morale didn’t last long when they caught sight of Twilight flying towards them.

“We need to hold her off until the princesses can release the disenchanting water on the land. Once they do, this battle will be over before it even begins.”

His words didn’t bring much comfort to the soldiers. “But we have to defend the forest until then…we aren’t equipped to fight dragons.”

“Heck, we weren’t equipped to fight one dragon even before Discord showed up, and we’re supposed to hold off an army of them?”

As panic quickly started to form among the ranks, Shining shifted his focus to his approaching sibling, who was now descending to their level.

The mare quickly paused for a moment, allowing Shining to confirm, much to his relief, that it was not his actual sister but her counterpart from the other world. “Nice to see you finally returned. Sadly, we still haven’t received any word from the princesses, and my actual sister will be upon us soon with her forces.”

The alternate Twilight put a comforting hand on her brother’s shoulder.“ “I know, but your shield spell can keep them at bay long enough for the princesses to accomplish their mission. If your shield breaks before they finish, I'll try fighting my other self. Taking her down might make the fight easier.”

“Ok, that’s at least some sort of plan.” It really was only half of a plan, as it didn’t offer a solution for the dragons. Sadly it was the best they had at the moment.

Equipping his armor and one last look to the sky, Shining signaled his army to begin marching, hundreds of ponies, some who weren't even former royal guards all looking absolutely terrified.

As they approached the edge of the forest, the ponies watched as a massive horde of dragons hovered over them, with Twilight riding atop a massive purple one that covered the sky and cast a shadow over them.

The massive dragon roared and shot out the flame from its mouth, Twilight looking down upon the force with grim satisfaction. “Listen and listen well! I do not wish to fight you! I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, no longer align myself with Discord. If you lay down your arms and swear fealty to me, this battle does not need to happen. I will make sure your lives are lived out in peace.”

Shining stood there frozen, seeing the guards and his brothers, sharing a mixture of looks of fear and apprehension. He’d anticipated them facing extremely unbalanced odds, but Twilight offered them an out, even if it meant switching to her side. That was not something he’d considered.

Sensing his hesitation, Big Macintosh moved to Shining’s side, the former guard captain looking to the farm pony for guidance. “What do you think? Should take her offer? Just to buy time.”

“Ey’nope.” he then raised a massive spear and held it out.

“Fair point,” Shining nodded, then threw his head up and shouted, “Stand your ground! She may be my sister by blood, but I would die before betraying Equestria!” With all his might, he raised his horn and used his magic to surround the forest with a shield. “Stand by me, and I'll hold them off for as long as I can! But be prepared to fight!”

Twilight smirked, almost looking grateful her brother refused to take her deal. “Oh, dear brother. Do you seriously think your pathetic shield can stop me!?”

Turning her attention to the dragons under her command, she pointed her hoof to the quivering army below. “Burn them alive!”

Her horde of dragons surrounded the shield as they started firing on it. Shining groaned as he felt the pressure hitting him and his horn heating up as well. But he remained firm as he whispered, “Come on, Celestia, Luna, where are you!?”

An hour had passed, and it felt like an eternity as the two princesses continued battling the onslaught of food, waiting for Rainbow Dash and her parents to figure out how to work the factory’s dashboard. Celestia shot a beam of energy at a jelly donut, bursting it and sending massive blobs of jam in her face as her sister slapped a giant powder donut, covering her head to toe in powder. “You know, I believe there might’ve been a point in my life where this would’ve actually been quite an entertaining experience.”

“Maybe in somepony else’s dreams, though I can certainly say none I’ve ever had!” Celestia paused before snickering back as she threw her hooves over her sister, “Though, I will admit this is a little funny. If circumstances were different, this wouldn’t be so bad.”

“I do admit battling fast food is enjoyable, but we need to know the progress of Dash’s family on the Dashboard.”

A sound of wings flapping caught Celestia’s ears. “Speak of the devil.”

Windy was flying back down with a smile and exclaimed, “I think we have an idea to solve this!”

“Yes! Please tell us!?” Luna quickly kicked a large bag of chips out of her way, trying to contain her excitement.

“So there’s this massive storm in the middle of the factory! My husband learned how to dial down the amount it’s producing, but it’s still creating the food at an unprecedented rate.”

Bow flew next to his wife, looking to be covered in a few bits of various foodstuffs. “The storm itself is the source of everything going on in the factory. If we throw your disenchanting water in there, it should theoretically spread across the factory, turning it back to normal.”

“Then we can use it to spread it across Equestria!” Windy chimed, finishing her husband’s thought with a smile.

“Alright, well, what are we waiting for!” Luna asked, offhandedly blowing some powdered sugar out of her mane. .
They then led the duo up towards the dashboard, and in the middle of it were about a dozen or so screens displaying various parts of the factory. The couple quickly pointed at the middle screen and the princesses couldn’t believe their eyes. There was a massive multicolored typhoon/hurricane, spewing out food in every direction, mostly being sent into various chutes.

“This is insane. We have to fly through that!?” Celestia groaned, already picturing the headache they were in for.

Luna shook her head, “That’s impossible! The winds alone would churn us up and spit us out! And that’s not including the giant pieces of food spinning that fast; one wrong move, and you can get seriously injured or killed.”

Spitfire eyed it, mind calculating the wind speed and shape of the vortex. “I could possibly do it…will take some maneuvering…”

Celestia shook her head firmly in the negative. “I won’t let any more ponies risk their necks for us, my sister and I will do it. We’re still stronger than any normal pony.”

Spitfire, however, refused to accept that. “Not a good idea. I saw you flying around, and since you're not princesses currently, I'm just gonna come out and say it.” She cleared her throat and looked both ponies square in the eyes. “You two are some of the most mediocre flyers I’ve ever seen! I’ve had new year recruits fresh out of flight school better than you. And those giant wings of yours will make it more difficult to maneuver in a storm like that. You’ll more than likely get yourselves killed.”

The princesses both gave her a rather astonished look as Luna snapped. “Mediocre!? I’ll show you mediocre!”

Celestia threw up a wing, halting her sister from taking another step. “Easy, sister, she might have a point. We've been cooped up in a cage for a year, plus you have been trapped on the moon for a thousand years. To say nothing of using chariots to get from place to place when we were rulers. Fact is, we’re quite out of practice.”

Seeing that matter was settled, Spitfire again studied the camera feed and the weather pattern. “Though it’s doable, we’d need at least three to pull this off. One to hover above and keep an eye on things, another to circle the circumference of the storm and position themselves, and a third who can get enough speed to break into the eye of the storm as the pegasus standing by outside throws them the vial and they can dump it into the center.”

Eyes quickly shifted among the present pegasi for the best one for each position.

Soarin shrugged. “I have pretty good stamina. I can circle around the storm, Spitfire you have a keen eye you should be the lookout.”

“Right, but is there anypony here that can break through a storm!?”

Windy cheeks flushed red, then said, “Sorry, I’m far too past my prime to pull that off.”

Bow sighed, “Never was a strong flyer myself.”

They then all turned to Rainbow Dash, who blinked. “Why are you looking at me for!? I haven’t flown in a while, and when I could, I wasn’t anything special..”

Spitfire eyed her and said, “You may not remember, but you were a really good flier as a foal.”

Soarin nodded, “Yeah I mean, you didn’t win a lot of races but I could tell you had a lot of potential…more then me anyways.”

“What are you talking about, you’re Wonderbolts!? I’m nopony.” Dash spoke, looking almost defeated to make such an admission.

Luna trotted over and said, “Rainbow Dash, I saw your memories; you are not some nopony. You are something special, and I believe you can do this.”

Celestia shared her sister’s sentiment, offering Dash a warm smile. “I learned about you from the Good Twilight. She praised you, and I’m confident you are as capable as she said. However, we will not put your life at risk if you do not wish to go…”

Surprisingly, the prior hesitation in Dash seemed to vanish as a determined look appeared on her face.

“What, no, if this is for the princesses and saving Equestria, how could I refuse?”

From behind, both of Dash’s parents look to be beaming with pride, a sentiment shared by the other ponies in the room.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Spitfire pushed her, and they flew off together to the massive “foodnado.”

Spitfire flew directly above the disaster and eyed it carefully before waving a hoof towards her wingpartner. "Ok, Soarin, go!”

The stallion started to fly around the entire circumference of the storm, angling himself as he waved a hoof, signaling the third member of their team.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and started to gain momentum, her heart thumping in her chest as she clenched the vial. She then started to fly into the storm, zooming past the giant pieces of food and then bursting through them, slamming into the center and dumping the contents of the vial down the middle.

With a massive boom, it exploded with a beautiful radiance of rainbow energy, swirling and dissolving the swirling foodnado of food, and then everything slowly started to turn back to the normal weather factory, and Rainbow Dash stood there hovering over with a smile on her face.

Windy’s voice went over the intercom. “That's my baby girl! Way to go!”

Bow followed up. “That’s our girl you go Rainbow Dash! You just saved Equestria!”

The rest of the ponies started tossing the embarrassed pegasus into the air, changing.

“Rainbow Dash!”

She laughed looking back at her flank and her eyes widened seeing her cutie mark had appeared making her eyes fill with tears unable to contain her excitement or the feeling of exhilaration.

It was so much and she couldn’t help but burst into tears she then tossed the vial to Celestia as it was already refilled then said, “alright let’s start getting this factory back up and running!”

Back in the Everfree Forest, the dragons were pouring their flame onto Shining Armor’s force field, cracks forming all across it from the pressure; the fire was licking through, and everypony was ready to fight.

The stallion heaved, struggling to keep the shield up for as long as he could.

“Sorry Celestia, Luna….but I can’t hold it anymore.”

With a final gasp, his hold on the spell gave way as the shield shattered, letting loose wind and heat into the previously cut-off area. More importantly, the dragons, now free to enter, started to descend upon the soldiers.

Among the ponies, the pegasi managed and distracted the airborne creatures while the unicorns created small shields to defend the earth ponies who threw spears and shot back with arrows.

Amidst the chaos, the good Twilight took to the skies at high speed, rocketing straight into the massive purple dragon carrying her evil counterpart, all while shouting, “Sorry, Spike!”

The sudden jolt caused her evil counterpart to lose her footing and fall off the dragon’s back. The good Twilight followed up with a powerful blast, striking the evil alicorn square into the ground. However, the evil Twilight quickly erupted from the ground, retaliating with her own attacks, which her counterpart returned.

The duo quickly engaged in a brutal aerial dogfight, magical blasts firing in every direction while both bobbed, weaved, and maneuvered to avoid getting shot out of the sky.

As they battled, the evil princess couldn’t help but let her curiosity out. “So tell me. Who are you!? Some kind of construct Trixie created!?”

“No, I'm really you from another timeline, and it’s about time your reign of terror comes to an end!” Twilight spoke, blocking an attack with a shield bubble.

The evil alicorn burst out laughing, “Alternate timelines, huh? Interesting, maybe I’ll ask you to elaborate after I throw you in a cage.”

Deciding to change tactics, the pair dropped to the ground and sized each other up, the evil Twilight smirking all the way.“You have no idea who you’re messing with, if you think I'll go easy on you think again!”

She then shot some Chaos Magic right at Twilight, who quickly teleported out of the way before flying upwards and shooting beams of magic out at the evil Twilight. The wicked counterparty quickly retaliated by summoning several tendrils to wrap around her and slamming her good counterpart into the ground as she came over laughing. “Is this the best you can do-”

Before she could finish, she heard a roar! And an angry Fluttershy was flying upwards with a hoard of bears behind her. The ordinarily peaceful pony angrily glared at the enemy and pointed her hoof square at the attacking army.

Go!”

The massive beasts charged forward with reckless abandon. Many immediately leapt onto the giant dragons, biting, scratching, and clawing, allowing the pegasi and unicorns to use their respect spells to focus on the dragon’s weak spots and finally gain proper ground.

The sudden shift left the evil Twilight distracted for a moment, only to find a massive piece of black ribbon tied around her legs and wings as Rarity strode over her with a smirk. ”I knew that ribbon would come in handy.”

The evil Twilight screamed as her horn erupted with magic, sending a wave all across the battlefield, freezing the many ponies and creatures in place, while she glared at the now frozen Rarity and Twilight. "You all wish to be my enemy, fine! Then you can all enjoy being in a chaotic hell forever!”

With a roar, her horn started to charge with more magic than ever before, the various energies swirling around with a violent roar, her intent to end things all too clear.

But then before the Evil Twilight could launch her spell storm clouds started to emerge quickly coating the skies above.

The dark alicorn initially paid them little mind until she felt a drop of water hit her muzzle, followed by several more, as the entire area was quickly beset by rain. Though not a rain of chocolate milk, soda, or some other random item, just ordinary, normal water.

The alicorn, unamused by the weather, shouted with anger as she tried to zap the clouds away with some chaos magic. However, to her surprise, she felt her magic start to weaken, as well as her back suddenly feeling lighter.

“Wha….WHAT!?” She screamed so loudly it shook the trees, as she saw that her once glorious wings were gone and that she was now simply a unicorn. “My magic, what happened to my….”

As the rain continued to fall, she started to put the pieces together, though that did her little good. She looked on in growing dread as the magic she used to transform the many ponies under her command faded.

The previous horde of dragons was now a small collection of unconscious or confused ponies, quickly being rounded up by Shining’s own force. Similarly, the previously unstable and mad forest that was Everfree had now reverted to its prior normal state. But most of all, the furious battle that had been raging before had all but been quelled.

Now, almost everyone's eyes were squarely centered on her, and none of them looked happy or pleased with her.

“Stop…don’t look at me like that. I’m your princess, and you will obey me.” She futilely tried to summon her magic, yet only a weak collection of sparks appeared. A far cry from the blasts of havoc she’d been generating just moments ago.

“Not anymore, little sister! I’m afraid this is the end.” Shining Armor approached his sibling and quickly used his magic to encase her legs in chains before two other unicorns quickly trapped her in a magic bubble. “Your reign is finally over! Long live Equestria!”

This led to mass applause from everypony, all cheering and shouting.

“The good” Twilight, unfrozen, was able to breathe a sigh of relief at their victory, grateful to see that despite how things had gone, no pony had been seriously injured. In fact, many ponies looked healthier and happier than they were before, if that was even possible. That disenchanting water created by the Elements of Harmony did revert anything Discord’s chaotic magic touched.

The sight made her feel relieved. She then headed off to find her “friends,” seeing Fluttershy was ok along with Rarity. “Well, that was certainly an unpleasant affair. I'm glad we managed to avoid anything too insane happening before we captured her. Though I must say I wasn’t expecting you to come in with your bear friends.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I may not like fighting, but if it’s to save my friends, then I’ll do what I have to…if that’s okay.”

Rarity rolled her eyes at the mare, somewhat reverting to her more shy persona. “Darling, really? After leading a charge into battle against dragons you’re apologizing? You and I really need to work on your self-confidence.”

Twilight watched the pair speak on, bringing a small smile to her face. True, they weren’t exactly like the ponies she knew from back home and likely never would be due to all the changes made, but she could at least nudge them in the right direction.

As her eyes drifted to what had been a brutal battlefield, she silently thought how much more was needed before this world would finally start to resemble the Equestria she remembered.

Chapter Eleven: The Aftermath

After the battle with Twilight’s army, as things had settled down, the collective forces returned to Ponyville.

To the shock of all those present, the small idyllic town had been returned to its original, rustic state before Discord’s magic corrupted it. The tiny thatched houses, the fields of grass, Sugarcube Corner, and even Sweet Apple Acres with its apple groves had returned. Even Trixie’s once enormous and luxurious castle was gone, replaced by a familiar massive oak tree in the center of town.

This change in scenery left Twilight somewhat surprised as she looked around, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit her with each look she took. It felt like she was back in her original timeline, and seeing her old library before Tirek destroyed it was…almost overwhelming. It pained her to know that this was something she could not change in her timeline.

“I never thought I would see my old library again.” Twilight slowly approached the old tree and gently placed her hoof on its trunk, subconsciously confirming it wasn’t an illusion or dream.

Spike looked up and nodded in agreement, “I can’t believe that it’s here.” The little drake looked in through one of the windows and was greeted by the many shelves, halls, and nicknacks that had been his home for some time. “Been so long, I forgot how much I really missed this place."

Starlight Glimmer, lacking the same connection to the tree, was more focused on the town itself yet was equally nostalgic. “I never thought I’d see Ponvyille this way with my own eyes. Honestly, it's just great to see this place looking normal.”

Sunburst walked up alongside his old friend, smiling at the sight as well. “It’s certainly a welcome change, though it will take time for ponies to readjust.”

All around, many other ponies who’d been living in the town were somewhat unsure of how to react. Looking at the simple and normal homes, buildings, calm fields, and trees, many could not believe it, while others simply didn’t know what to do.

“But we should have everypony stay here and try to give them some kind of home. So many have been displaced.”

“I am sure we can figure that out in time, but Twilight and I need to find the Cutie Map and reset things to how they were before all of this happened,” Starlight explained, mind already focused on some clue or possibly location of the map.

Twilight, meanwhile, looked around at the dozens of ponies all huddled together, with most just seeming to be happy this was over, and let out a sigh, then added. “It’s true; even though we saved the ponies here, the memories and the scars of what Discord, my counterpart, and Trixie have done will remain.”

Seeing a few ponies, she recognized looking at her with a mixture of fear, confusion, and anger left the alicorn feeling the need for a change of scenery. “How about we go into my old library and discuss our next course of action.”

With a few nods all around, the others followed her inside, and it was like how she left it all those years ago.

Bookshelves stretching up into the ceiling, with comfy chairs placed around the room. The stairway that leads to the upper floors. Twilight took a moment to reminisce as she led her friends into the room. Spike took the opportunity to observe the kitchen and tea, quickly bringing out a tray with tea and some light snacks he found.

Once everypony was inside and settled, they all sat around in the living room and started talking about their next action plan.

Twilight cleared her throat and said, “We need to focus on finding the Cutie Map and where Discord currently is, which means I’ll be confronting myself.”

It took everyone a second to understand the somewhat confusing word choice but everyone’s expression shift to worry.

“Twilight, are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, based on what we’ve seen, she’s kind of a jerk.” Spike tried to be as nice as possible with his word choice.

“My alternate self is the one standing between us and defeating Discord. She may be the only pony in Equestria who knows his whereabouts. Without her, my other friends can’t use the Elements of Harmony, and we won’t be able to turn him into stone.”

Twilight spoke matter of factly, knowing full well what she was suggesting was far from ideal. “She already doesn’t have any loyalty to him. That much is clear. If we can convince her to join us, we can finally set this world right again.”

“That doesn’t mean she’ll just agree to help. You saw how cruel she was,” Starlight replied, mentally flinching at her own memories of the tyrannical mare. Really made her realize how lucky she was; the Twilight she knew was so nice.

Sunburst nodded, “Starlight's right; your alternate doesn’t care about anypony but herself. She didn’t even hesitate to attack her own brother. Unless she gets something out of it, she wouldn’t help us no matter what we say.”

Everypony was left pondering a potential solution as Alt Twilight’s compliance was non-optional. Something had to be done to win her over.

After a few moments, Starlight perked up and raised her hoof.

“Maybe this might be forthcoming, but what if you use the Element of Magic instead? I mean, you’re both Twilight Sparkle, and you can already use the Element of Magic anyway, right?”

That seemed to perk up some of the others, only for Twilight to shake her head in the negative.

“I thought about that, but the problem is this isn’t my timeline. I’m not sure if these Elements will let me use them.”

Sunburst paused and admitted, “Well, that is just a theory; you might be right, but I don’t think we have a choice. I’ve been around this evil Twilight longer than any of you, and rest assured, I don’t think she cares about turning things back to normal. She craves power and obedience. I don't think she’s going to turn.”

“We have to try Sunburst; I know it seems impossible, but we have to try.” Twilight insisted but Sunburst refused to accept this.

“I understand, but please forgive me for saying this. But I don’t believe she will ever change. Her mindset stems from when she was just a foal; it’s not something we can change with a speech or a few kind words. And honestly, I don’t think she deserves a second chance.”

Those last words made Twilight pause, a little surprised the normally reserved researcher believed such a thing, though perhaps she agreed with him on some level. She’d seen what her counterpart was like, and it was asking a lot to believe there was any good left in her.

But, then again, if she had given up on someone this easily, she’d never have redeemed Princess Luna, Discord, or even Starlight.

Twilight got up, “When Princess Celestia and Luna return from Manehattan, we will inform them of our decision to stay here as they still need to find Pinkie Pie. Even if we somehow turn Twilight to help us and learn where Discord is, without Pinkie Pie, all our efforts will be in vain.”

“Guess once again you and your friends have to save the day,” Starlight mumbled irritably.

Sunburst eyed her with concern, while Twilight looked at her with sympathy but also hesitation. Though Starlight seemingly no longer had any interest in reverting to her original plan to ruin the lives of Twilight and her friends, the princess was still weary of her now that things were turning back to normal and they were on the cusp of returning to their original timeline.

Even though she’d made good progress, the temptation to change things could still be there, and Twilight needed to ensure such a thing wouldn’t happen.

“Listen, Starlight, I need to ask this plainly.” Twilight’s voice hardened somewhat, making her authority clear. “Are you going to try to sabotage our plans?”

Starlight seemingly snapped out of her momentary anger, and looked positively horrified at the accusation. “What, of course not! I realized I was wrong, ok! But… I still find it absurd that Equestria's fate just seems to always be dependent on you and your friends. Even now, as broken and dysfunctional as they are, can you honestly say they still can defeat Discord?”

Twilight, silent for a moment, rose up and spoke as confidently as she could. “I trusted them to come together despite not knowing each other, and we defeated Nightmare Moon in a few hours. I have faith we can take down Discord as well.”

As Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst discussed what they were doing next, back in Manehattan, Applejack was enduring being Trixie’s servant, unable to do anything but continue serving her every whim, mostly feeding and cleaning after her.

That part alone was irritating but still somewhat manageable, thanks to her prior time on the farm. However, what was truly exhausting was the arrogant mare’s absolute refusal to stop talking!

Without fail, she continued to prattle on and on about how amazing she would be as princess of Equestria without end. It’d gotten to the point where Applejack was honestly deciding between clubbing her over the head with something or jumping out a nearby window.

Thankfully, that was when the magical rains started to fall. Hearing them pit pat against the window pane and seeing Trixie wasn’t paying attention to her, she peered out the window and watched as the rains fell onto Manehattan. She saw the entire city change before her very eyes.

The ponies being forced into rows of toy soldiers started to move, and the ponies began laughing and dancing in the streets as their previously plastic bodies were turned back into flesh and blood. The buildings and roads reverted to how they were before Discord’s magic altered them. The massive river surrounding the city became crystal blue waters once more, and the Statue of Harmony reverted to its former self.

Completely gobsmacked, Applejack slowly opened the windows one by one, and Trixie finally saw her and shouted, “What are you doing!?”

Instead of answering, Applejack simply let the enchanted waters gradually wash over the room, carried inwards by the wind.

Very quickly, the room morphed and shifted, eventually revealing itself as a simple apartment. Applejack then watched as the water’s influence spread further, even to Trixie. Her wings slowly fading away along with her larger body, leaving her to plop down on her flank back to a simple unicorn.

However, most interestingly, the farm mare’s maid uniform started disappearing, and she cried," Thank Faust! I’m never wearing another dress for as long as I live!”

Her moment of jubilation was interrupted by another loud screech from her former monarch.

“What is going on?” Trixie tried lighting her horn, but it could only send off some sparks and fizzles out. That was all. “My power, all my power is gone!”

“Yer darn right it’s gone, Trixie; your reign is at an end, too!” Applejack shouted, feeling an immense level of satisfaction in saying it.

The sound of cheering quickly caught Applejack’s attention as she looked outside to see the princesses flying over the city.

In mere seconds, they flew right through the window and found a giddy applejack and a terrified Trixie crawling away from them. Fear was on her face as she stammered. “Pr…princess Celestia, Luna I…I didn’t mean to do anything.”

“To do what!? Use the citizens of Manehattan as cannon fodder to maintain your power and control,” Luna addressed her angrily. “You should be in prison or in exile for your crimes.”

Trixie quickly slammed her head on the floor, groveling and bowing as much as she could. “ PLEASE NO! Discord’s magic warped my mind! I swear I wasn’t trying to take over Equestria! I just wanted ponies to love me!”

Luna looked livid at the showmare, only to feel her sister’s hoof stopped her from advancing.

Celestia looked at Trixie with anger and pity. Though she agreed with her sister, seeing Trixie in such a pitiful state made her feel a sharp pang in her chest.

Trixie clearly was over her head and may have been corrupted by chaos magic. At the end of the day, she was little more than an amateur magician given far too much power. Many in her position would’ve acted in a similar manner. That didn’t entirely excuse her actions, however.

“My sister is right; if we were any other tyrant, we would have you thrown in a cell for the rest of your life. However, we can’t ignore the likely influence Discord’s magic had on you, and there has been enough suffering. Removing your status as an alicorn is punishment enough in my eyes. But you will find a fitting way for you to repay the citizens of Ponyville for your crimes. At a minimum, we’ll have Mayor Mare commit you to doing community service.”

Trixie was in tears. She bowed and cried, “Thank you. I’ll never do anything like this again, I swear. I’ll be a model mare for everypony.”

The two alicorns scoffed. Seeing this once-powerful alicorn, who had tried humiliating them a week prior, now helpless and cowering, was undoubtedly eye-opening and a tad satisfying as well.

Shifting their attention to Applejack, she was similarly in tears, but her’s were tears of joy as she flung herself into their embrace, shouting, “Thank you!”

Their rage quelled, and both alicorns wrapped their wings around the grateful mare.

“No, thank you for helping us and buying us time,” Luna spoke in gratitude. “If it weren’t for you and the ponies in the Everfree Forest, things could have turned out a lot worse.”

“Though now, we should check on the state of the city. I imagine the ponies here will still need help adjusting to things.” Celestia spoke, ear twitching at the much louder city compared to when they left it.

Letting go of Applejack, the pair of princesses flew out of the apartment building and into the city sky ponies chanting their names once more after a year of being prisoners.

While neither princess normally cared that much for being cheered on by their subjects after everything they’d gone through up to this point, neither was opposed to preening a little at the admiration.

As they flew, Princess Luna nuzzled her sister, and they placed a wing over each other, then threw a wing upward and addressed the crowd, showing that despite everything that’s happened, they will not allow the pain of the past to deter them from creating a brighter future for Equestria.

A few more days passed as both Princess Celestia and Luna returned to Canterlot and saw it was back to its former glory.

The gaudy circus tents were gone, and the roads were cleared of shabby games and fast food. The city was returned to its beautiful, pristine self once more. And, of course, the citizens were also returned to their normal selves, no longer a gaggle of insane clowns.

As expected, upon their return, many of the citizens started bowing and apologizing, to which both monarchs quickly accepted that their madness was a side effect of the magic.

Once everything calmed down, the Princess spent some time restoring order as the rains poured and washed away the rest of the chaos magic. But there was still much to do. This was especially true when they learned that the southern regions of Equestria were still under the influence of Chaos Magic, and it would be weeks before the Rains of Harmony would reach them.

There was also still no sign of Discord. As such, the Princesses called a meeting with the rest of the “Element Bearers.” Applejack now had her cutie mark and was wearing a cowcolt hat; Rainbow Dash found her’s and beaming with pride. Rarity was looking more confident and wearing an elegant dress, and Fluttershy still looking a bit wild but far calmer compared to how they saw her before with a few bunnies surrounding her, along with Spitfire, Starlight Glimmer, Zecora, Sunburst, and Shining Armor all attending.

Once everypony was accounted for, Princess Celestia stood up and greeted them all, “Good evening. I know everypony currently has much to deal with as we attempt to rebuild and readjust after purging Discord’s magic from Equestria. However, we need to discuss the next steps to completely erase all the chaos magic infecting Equestria and finding Discord.”

Those in attendance all nodded, eager to get started.

Spitfire cleared her throat and said, “Right; as we discussed before, every city or town from north of Ponyville has returned to normal. However, the southern regions of Equestria are still under the influence of chaos magic as it will take time for the weather team to get the rains that far south.”

“How long?” Celestia asked, hoping for some good news.

“It could take a month, maybe even longer.”

A chorus of groans and frustration echoed through the chamber.

“We don’t have that much time!” Twilight exclaimed, “My evil version still resents us, and we don’t know where Pinkie Pie is. Without the Elements of Harmony, it’s only a matter of time before Tirek appears to destroy us. All we need to do is start developing a plan to save everypony!”

“But didn’t you say Tirek was significantly weakened when he initially attacked Equestria?” Shining Armor asked. “Can’t we just stop him now before he causes too much trouble?”

Twilight shook her head. “Tirek derives his power by consuming magic. Any pony that gets near him will just give him more power before they have a chance to do anything.”

A tense silence followed as the princesses turned to each other and nodded. Princess Celestia said, “Then it seems my sister and I will need to go on one last adventure…we need to go to the south and find Pinkie Pie.”

Luna nodded in agreement. “My sister is right; she and I started this, and we will finish it.”

“Sounds like a plan! Don’t worry, princess, we’ll handle things here while you’re away,” Sunburst exclaimed.

Shining Armor nodded and said, “Right, almost all of the royal guard has been accounted for. We will keep order and ensure everypony is safe. And if Tirek is spotted, we’ll make sure to alert everypony. Even if we can’t stop him we should be able to slow him down atleast.”

Zecora nodded and said, “Yes, things will be fine; please find Pinkie Pie!”

Luna smiled at the zebra and said, “Thank you, Zecora. We’re forever grateful for the aid you provided in keeping ponies safe in the Everfree Forest.”

“Yes, my sister and I are all in your debt. This final adventure shouldn’t take us too long.”

As the meeting ended with the ponies all chatting amongst each other, Princess Luna eyed Starlight as she lit her horn and pulled her sister and Twilight aside and down a hall. She looked around, making sure nopony could overhear before speaking, "Before we leave, I must confess something…when I was in Rainbow Dash’s memory, I saw Starlight Glimmer interfering with the timeline. She is why the timeline was distorted and Discord took over!”

Princess Celestia was surprised by this news, only for Twilight to raise her hoof to get their attention.”

The young alicorn looked down with a guilty look on her face. “I…I know because I must confess that I was trying to stop her from altering with the timeline.”

Both Princesses looked utterly floored by the revelation, with Luna quickly shifting to livid, glaring angrily at the young mare, “Tell us everything, now Twilight, and don’t leave anything out.”

Twilight only bowed her head further in shame as she nodded rapidly.

“After my friends and I stopped her initial plan, she decided to destroy our friendship using a modified version of a Time Travel spell from Starswirl the Bearded. Spike and I tried to stop her as she kept attempting to change the past, and everytime she did, we ended up back at the Cutie Map.” Twilight’s mind played over the events bit by bit, making sure to not miss a single detail. “The only reason Starlight didn’t leave this time was us being captured by Discord’s minions and locking our magic away.”

Princess Celestia looked at her supposed student with disappointment and frustration. “Why didn’t you tell us this before? This is vital information.”

“Because, I…I know how crazy this sounds, but I think she’s changed. I know I can’t fully know for sure, but Starlight hasn’t tried to betray us this entire time, and so far, she seems different from before. After seeing the impact her actions had on Equestria, I believe she understands what she was doing was wrong.” Twilight felt genuinely hopeful about Starlight and wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. “ Please, I’ll keep an eye on her, and if she does try to betray us….I’ll stop her.”

Luna wanted to say something in response, visibly angry at this development, but Celestia looked at her and shook her head. Then, turning back to the younger alicorn, she said, “Alright, Twilight. I…I trust you.”

The Princess of the Night annoyedly sighed. “Fine, but you better watch her and your evil counterpart.Speaking of which, that is another problem we neglected to discuss during our meeting. Do you have a plan to try changing her?”

Twilight actually perked up a little, yet to their displeasure, they also looked a little apprehensive or embarrassed for some reason. “Well, as weird as this sounds, I do; I believe my friends and I have a plan to try to make her see how wrong she was, and I’m sure we can find a way.”

Luna didn’t look particularly convinced. “That doesn’t seem like much of a plan, Twilight; at best, that’s the concept of a plan.”

Twilight blushed harder, ashamed of her response. “I mean, it’s worked before against other people we’ve faced, so….”

Celestial merely chuckled a little. “At this point, it seems we will have to play this by ear. For now, we just need to have faith that this will work out in the end.”

Luna almost groaned. “Just once, I’d like to have a clear plan.”

The three alicorns, with everything settled, separated. Twilight headed back inside to formulate a plan to deal with Tirek while Celestia and her sister stepped out of their palace and into the streets of the Canterlot.

The Princess of the Sun then looked up to the bright blue sky and typical fluffy white clouds. She then spread her wings as she turned to her sister. "This is it. Once we find Pinkie Pie, and if Twilight succeeds in changing our Twilight, we’ll be ready to turn Discord back into stone, and this will all just be some horrible nightmare.”

Princess Luna let out a sigh and said, “Hopefully, it still feels like the calm before the storm, but we should end this quickly.” Luna’s tone started to drop and worry and concern were evident. “I know you trust Twilight, but I have doubts; neither this Starlight nor our Evil Twilight can be trusted.”

“We need to have faith that she and the other element bearers can change this Evil Twilight and Starlight.”

Luna merely rolled her eyes at that. “Your faith in this mare and her friends is starting to concern me somewhat, sister.”

Celestia merely smiled. “Perhaps, but something about it just feels right for some reason.”
Neither mare questioned it further as they spread their wings and looked to the sky.

“Now, are you ready for one more mission?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Unquestionably! I want this to be over as much as you do, sister, ” Luna chimed.

The two princesses then took off, flapping their wings and sailing south into the sunrise.

Chapter Twelve: Changing Hearts and Minds

Princess Celestia and Luna continued their trek as they approached the barren deserts of the southern regions of Equestria.

As expected from such a hostile environment, the area was sparsely populated save for a few settlements like Appleloosa and the roaming buffalo tribes. Appleloosa was actually one of the first attempts to create a thriving pony community within the southern flats, an attempt that sadly ground to a halt after Nightmare Moon and Discord.

As the princesses flew, they quickly noticed how the sky filled with massive storm clouds and pouring rain.

Princess Celestia, curious, opened her mouth only to spit the water out immediately. “Ugh, that's salt water. As if this region wasn’t dry enough already.”

Luna similarly looked displeased at the water, though also looked at how dark and dreary everything was beyond the simple storm clouds. “Didn’t Twilight mention this land had become depressed recently? Do you think she was being more literal in her description?”

Celestia blinked as more rain pelted her face. “Are you implying this rain is…”

“Actual tears, yes I am.”

Now, viewing the liquid more disgustedly, Celestia wasn’t sure what to think. “As always, Discord enjoys his irony and pun, doesn’t he?”

Luna shrugged. “It certainly gives, “cry me a river” a whole new meaning.”

Indeed, several large rivers were flowing through the previously barren landscape, hence the reason for their flight. As they flew onwards, they started to notice some large structures in the distance.

The two then saw massive statues of draconequus, one that was hunched over, looking dower and depressed, arms hanging limply at its sides. The other, meanwhile, had its arms angrily crossed in front of its chest, its face twisted into a scowl so sharp there were actual cracks on the face of the stone.

Below the massive monoliths, the land itself had several roads carved of what appeared to be dark black stone. The pathways were made to be high enough above the large swaths of water to avoid them, likely one of the only ways to move about in spite of the rain.

Princess Celestia paused, taking a moment to look around. The alicorn was getting used to how Discord’s chaos had altered her world, but this was much darker than the other places they’d been to.

“This is strange even for what we’ve seen. Discord can be cruel at times, but this seems far too morbid for his taste. This is more akin to King Sombra or Tirek’s doing.”

“Those statues certainly don’t look like Discord.” Luna eyed both of the tower pieces of stone. “Perhaps he chose to adopt an alter ego of sorts for this particular region. Barring that explanation, perhaps he cloned himself?” Luna asked, shivering at the thought of facing two of the draconequus. One was bad enough.

Celestia shared a similar thought process; cloning was certainly something the mad being was capable of. “Sound theory, but that wouldn’t explain the dower appearance of everything. Discord has always been a mischief-maker first and foremost; this all seems antithetical to that.”

The pair still eyed the statues, confused Luna, looking for some kind of clue. “Could Discord have given some of his chaotic power to another or turned them into a draconequus, similar to what he did to Trixie and Twilight?”

A pause hung in the air as both sisters quickly had a concerning thought.

“You don’t think?”

“We better hurry and find this rock farm Twilight mentioned. I just hope we’re wrong.”

With greater haste, they proceeded along the black stone road, ignoring the rain as best they could. However, it was only a matter of minutes before another and considerably more bizarre obstacle was in their path.

“Luna, you’re seeing this too, right?”

“I am sister, and at this point, I’m positively numb to it.”

Walking along the path about a hundred or so yards away from the pair was a collection of massive chickens!

The enormous pack of poultry behaved rather normal under the circumstances, waddling and clucking about, pecking the ground, and occasionally snatching up boulders and crushing them between their beaks. Other than their size, they seemed relatively normal.

“This seems rather pedestrian for Discord’s magic, doesn’t it?” Luna pointed at the gigantic birds, looking almost disappointed. “I mean, surely there is more to them than….”

A pair of the birds had suddenly started to squawk angrily at each other right before one opened its beak, and a massive stream of fire blasted the other.

“And, there it is.”

Despite the creatures's ferocity, Celestia chuckled a little at the beast. “Twilight did mention we’d likely encounter some hostile creatures on the way. Looking a bit more closely at the creatures, she noticed that each chicken was two-toned, with their waddle and head crest being a different color from their bodies, and each bird was a different color combination. “I wonder if perhaps these chickens were originally dragons. It would explain the size and fire breathing.”

“They certainly still act like dragons, so it is plausible.” Luna reflexively took a step back when there was more fire from the beasts. “I would suggest we sneak around them,” Luna whispered.

“Yes, it's probably best to avoid them,” Celestia added as the pair quickly took to the sky and started to ascend towards the clouds. However, as they rose, one chicken looked up and noticed them before it started squawking and flapping its wings, quickly riling up the rest of the chickens.

Luna couldn’t help but snicker, "Well, it’s a good thing chickens can’t fly.”

But just as she said, the massive chickens stopped and glared at the two, and then they started to flap their wings again, only this time as they actually started to rise into the air. As they started to rise, they also quickly followed up with multiple streams of fire from their beaks, aimed at the now panicking princesses.

“You just had to mock them off, didn’t you, Luna!?” Princess Celestia snapped at her sister as the two princesses flew through the air at incredible speeds, avoiding being blasted by flames and the snapping of beaks.

Fortunately for the pair, though the chickens could fly, the speed at which they rose was quite pitiful so it didn’t take long before the two alicorns cleared the clouds and were beyond their reach.

Flying above the clouds for some time, they eventually descended to see if they were any closer to their destination. They were greeted by the sight of a massive city with a pyramid that stood out among the skyline, the top even piercing through the clouds.

Slowly lowering to the ground, they arrived at the gates of the massive city and were greeted with the sight of hundreds of ponies made of stone, all looking utterly depressed and void of any life as they mindlessly were building things, monuments, towers, and statues, cluttering the walkways, not really caring where they build or why?

“Yet another pony population corrupted by Discord’s magic.” Luna sneered while feeling pity for the somber collection of ponies. “I dare say these seem to be among the worst we’ve found.”

Celestia nodded. “At least with the ponies in Canterlot or Ponyville, they seemed relatively well adjusted. The sheer misery is so potent you can practically taste it.”

At that moment, another drop of salty rain flew into Celestia’s mouth, hacking rather painfully.

“Make that literally,” Luna noted, patting her still-coughing sister’s back.

The two continued their trot through the desolate acropolis as they approached the pyramid. The entire structure was made of dark and gray stones, and hieroglyphs showed ponies smashing rocks with their hooves or pickaxes.

“Do you think this was the rock farm Twilight mentioned?” Princess Celestia asked out loud.

Luna looked at the map and said, “Yes, it seems so…. I guess it could mean that this draconequus had made this place its lair.”

Cautiously, hey approached the entrance of the pyramid, where there were no guards or monsters stationed. Then again, if the enemy was a draconequus, it wasn’t like they needed one.

“Once more into the breach,” Celestia spoke as the pair slowly made their way inside the pyramid.

Back in the newly uncorrupted Canterlot, Twilight was standing near the cells beneath the palace, almost overwhelmed by the dread surrounding her as she was finally going to confront her evil counterpart.

Slowly, the mare walked by the various empty cells, the sense of foreboding growing stronger with each step she took, until finally she arrived at the cell of her doppelganger, currently seated on the floor, horn covered a sealing collar.

The evil Twilight glared upwards and snapped. “What do you want?”

Twilight paused, not exactly sure how to start a conversation with a pony she’d effectively helped imprison. “Hey, um…listen, I’m not here to gloat. I honestly just want to talk.”

The evil Twilight merely sneered at the attempt of diplomacy. “Talk about what? If it’s about Discord, then you’re wasting your time. I don’t have a clue where he is. He vanished after explaining the basics of Chaos Magic, and we haven’t seen hide nor claw of him.”

Twilight gave an annoyed sigh and said, “Yeah, okay. I guess that sounds pretty in character for Discord, but I didn’t just come here to get information. As cheesy as this sounds, I wanted to try to suggest that you should give friendship a chance.”

“Friendship!?” the evil Twilight scoffed, “Please, I have no friends. And I certainly don’t want any.”

Twilight winced, expecting such a reaction considering this This Twilight never had the chance to grow under Princess Celestia’s guidance, to say nothing of never meeting her friends or even Spike. Then again, that was only part of the problem.

“Listen, I know we were never the most social of mares, even when we were fillies. I practically couldn’t go for two minutes without my eyes peering down a good book. Looking back, I sometimes wish I could go back and tell my past self to give friendship a chance. Honestly, I could see myself turning into you without Princess Celesita's mentorship.”

Her words continued to fall on deaf ears, her dark counterpart merely walking up to the front of the cell, annoyed and angry.

“What’s even the point of all this? In case your eyes aren’t working, look at me. I’m still a blank flank who, up until a couple of hours ago, served as an oppressive dictator for everypony in Canterlot. Nopony would want to even look at me, much less be my friend.”

Twilight sighed, again having a hard time arguing with that. “You’re not wrong, I'm not sure you can repair all the damage you’ve caused, and I doubt everypony will forgive you. But the fact that in spite of everything you did to them, the Princesses are even allowing me to talk to you proves they don’t harbor grudges even when they have every right to.”

“So!? I’m supposed to scrape before them and beg for their forgiveness? Is that what I’m supposed to do for the rest of my life?” Evil Twilight roared, practically throwing herself at the bars.

“I am not asking you to beg for anything. I just want you to talk with some ponies and see if you will be friends.

“Seriously!?” Evil Twilight wasn’t certain if her counterpart was blindly naive or just stupid.

“Yes, seriously!? I’ll let you out of this cell, and you can speak with them, perhaps start to mend things.”

The other Twilight merely eyed her cell for a moment and grumbled. “Fine, I’ll try…I've got nothing better to do.”

“Good, I’ll set things up then! Twilight chirped and flew off, eventually finding Spike waiting for her as she trotted up the stairs. “How’d it go?”

“Seems as if she’s willing to give friendship a chance, but we need to set up a lunch for her and the others.”

Spike seemed to turn a little green at the idea. “Lunch, huh? Let’s just hope she doesn’t try to serve us heads on platters.”

“Spike! I know she’s a bit evil, but Starlight was too, and she’s changed, so we have to try, or we won’t ever get home.”

Twilight, of course, conveniently left out that Starlight needed to see the light, not only the many doomed realities her actions created, but also be imprisoned in one of those realities. She had a good feeling about this.

“Right, well, there's no harm in trying, I guess,” Spike replied with a shrug as they walked off towards the dining room, Twilight following after.

Princess Celestia and Luna continued to walk through a hall of hieroglyphs depicting a family on a rock farm. They apparently did a great many relatively mundane things, eating rock soup, bucking rocks, and then going to sleep. The family itself seemed to be unbothered by the uneventful lifestyle based on the images….all save one.

Throughout, the glyphs showed a single pink filly amongst the family, depicted with a storm cloud over her head and a somber expression on her face. The further the images moved through time, the larger the cloud and more dower she grew, whilst her family remained unchanged.

Eventually, the story arrives at the point when Discord appears before them, transforming the older pink pony into a copy of himself. Discord showed how fun it was to turn old ponies into foals, dragons into chickens, and buffalo into cows, almost like trying to teach the concept of joy to the pink creature. But the other creature just seemed bored and didn’t care, and eventually Discord left.

Over time, the transformed mare started creating an empire of stone-like ponies, turning her family into golems before doing the same to others who stumbled upon her rock farm. Eventually, the small farm was transformed into the massive city they saw outside.

The princesses found themselves enamored by the story pictured on the walls as they entered a central chamber, where a family stood around a table, mindlessly munching away at several massive hunks of rocks.

Like the ponies outside, the family were made of carved rock, expressions flat and unchanging as their bodies moved as if guided by another hand. However, as with the glyphs, there was a single figure who stood out amongst the others, the very same one they’d seen in the images before.

Like the carvings, the draconequus was pink and scaled like a serpent, a mismatch of several creatures joined together like Discord. Her mane was a straight dark pink, and her eyes a dull blue. She, too, thoughtlessly threw the massive stones into her mouth, though unlike her family, who gradually gnawed at the massive boulders, her mouth opened wide, like a snake’s, allowing the entire stone to slip right in before being crushed by her jaws.

Celestia and Luna slowly stepped closer, the draconequus pausing, her eyes drifting towards them. “Huh, new visitors.”

“Yes, we are. I’m Luna, and this is my sister Celestia?” Luna spoke cautiously, Celestia herself offering a light wave at their host. “Might we have your name perhaps?”

“Oh, me? I’m Pinkie Pie.” The now-identified creature spoke offhandedly as she threw another rock down her throat.

Celestia felt another wince of pity and irritation, seeing another of Twilight’s “friends” being so completely consumed by Discord’s magic and potentially working for him. “How is it that so many ponies Twilight knew ended up in such positions?”

Putting that thought aside, she put on her best smile and approached the former pony.

“Well, um, Pinkie Pie, we were wondering what exactly is going on here? Is there a reason you turned all these ponies to stone and have them build these statues?”

“Everypony here was scared of Discord, and I gave them a place to hide, but they needed something to do, so building stuff seemed like the best option. To keep their minds off everything.” Pinkie spoke again with little interest, content just to throw more rocks in her mouth, barely giving the princesses her attention.

Luna replied, “Pinkie Pie, I’m not sure you are aware, but Discord hasn’t been around for some time, and um…we came here to find you.”

That actually got Pinkie to stop mid-rock and give the Princess of the Night her full attention.“By who?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

That actually caused the pink draconequus to chuckle, though it was hollow and dry, making both alicorns shiver a little. “So she finally came to take over, huh? About time, I suppose.”

“No, the Twilight you're thinking of is in a cell.” Celestia quickly picked up. “Another Twilight came here from a different timeline, and we are trying to end Discord’s reign. And you are apparently crucial in taking him down.”

Rather than sound intrigued, Pinkie merely huffed, blowing strands of her mane out of her eyes and slumping in her seat. “What if I don’t want to take him down? He gave me this kingdom!”

Celestia immediately pointed her hoof at the rest of Pinkie’s family. “And look at it, everypony here is miserable!?”

“Everypony was already miserable here, to begin with.” Pinkie snapped her fingers, causing the glyphs to start moving, replaying the monotone life of the family in full. “Just farming rocks, eating rocks, and sleeping, day in and day out. Now, at least, they never have to worry about being hungry, tired, or having feelings!” She then pointed her own hoof at her family. " This is what my world was like: boring, gray, and dull! All they cared about was dumb rocks. Well, now they can have as many of them as they want!”

Both Princesses reflexively took a step back, and the vitriol and anger in the draconquss’s voice were evident.

“Life doesn’t have to be like this,” Luna spoke calmly. “ From what I learned from the other Twilight, you were a fun, energetic pony who loved planning and hosting parties!”

Pinkie Pie’s eye twitched ever so slightly, her straight mane seeming to move slightly along with it. “That’s funny, that’s not the first time somepony said that to me…”

“It wasn’t?” Celestia asked, “Who else told you this?”

“Discord…he tried to make me his apprentice.” Pinkie snapped her fingers, making the glyphs shift again, showing Discord floating above Pinkie, speech bubbles hinting at his intentions. “He told me that I should be more like him, more wacky and crazy. But I was so depressed and angry when he turned me into this…thing!” She angrily waved a claw over her form and continued, “Instead, I just turned ponies into statues so they could forget about the horrors of Nightmare Moon’s reign and any other ponies who didn’t want to live in Discord’s insane world. I just wanted us to live here without anypony disturbing us.”

“And nopony will disturb you. Things are steadily returning to how they once were, and once they have, you can be whatever you want!?” Celestia replied, still feeling as though she was hitting a proverbial wall with this conversation. “But first, we need you to turn these ponies to normal and help restore this land to how it used to be.”

Pinkie Pie simply leaned back in her chair without a hint of urgency. “Even if you’re telling the truth, so what? Ponies here will never have to worry about anything again, no more work, dealing with relationships, worrying about how to live their lives, or worrying about broken dreams, or even getting old. Maybe life is just better this way.”

The princesses were dumbfounded at the response, Celestia especially.

“You’re saying you’d rather live a dull, uneventful, and stagnant existence simply to avoid any kind of hardship?”

Pinkie simply yawned and nodded, not even bothering to speak.

Luna, seething at the act, quickly pulled her Celestia aside. “Sister, I fear this Pinkie Pie is a lost cause. Whatever passion or joy she might’ve had is long gone at this point. Maybe instead of trying to change her back, we should just try to convince her to fight Discord as a draconequus. Fight fire with fire.”

“Luna, Discord is the one who gave Pinkie her powers, to begin with, and I imagine he can just as easily take them back. We just need to try a different approach.” Princess Celestia contemplated a solution before an idea began forming in her mind. One that left her internally groaning at the idea. “Maybe we should try….being clowns again.”

“What!? Are you serious!?” Luna feared her sister had finally snapped.

“I know it’s the last thing either one of us wants, but if we can cheer up Pinkie Pie, then maybe we can finally convince her to return things as they were. And hopefully, defeat Discord for good.”

“But sister, look at her.” Luna again pointed to the miserable former mare, who’d returned to robotically eating rocks with her frozen family. “Even if we did don those ridiculous costumes again, what possible hope could we have to even get this mare to crack a smile. You saw the walls; she’s been miserable for years, and Discord couldn’t even convince her.”

It certainly was a tall order, and it wasn’t like Celestia or Luna were even good clowns to begin with, but still. “We have to try, sister. We owe it to the citizens of Equestria to consider every option we have, even if it’s a long shot.”

“....I still wish to correct the mistakes I made previously. So, if this is what I must do to atone, then fine,” Luna mumbled.

Plan in hoof, they slowly approached Pinkie Pie, Celestia clearing her throat to get her attention. “Pinkie Pie, I have a proposal. If we can make you laugh and show you how to have fun, would you be willing to at least try helping us?”

“Make me laugh!?” Pinkie actually looked slightly intrigued by the idea, sitting up ever so slightly.

“Yes, make you laugh!”

Sitting up further, Pinkie actually looked more awake now than ever. “And how would you do that?”

“For starters, we were originally cursed by Discord to be clowns.” Using her magic, Celestia created a projection of their previous “clowney” appearance. “Maybe if we turned back into clowns, we could show you!”

Pinkie Pie, now both curious and quite interested, obliged, and with a snap of her claws, the two were returned to their clown attire, including poofy afros and red noses.

Luna’s shoulders sagged a little at the familiar sensation. “And here I was really hoping I’d never have to wear this again.”

However, she felt Celestia nudge her shoulder before pointing to Pinkie, specifically how her mouth started to twitch ever so slightly before returning to its original flat position.

Seeing that their plan had merit, the pair quickly resumed their original routine. Pulling unicycles out of their manes, they started riding around and throwing pies at each other for actual flavor.

One pie collided with Luna’s afro, practically knocking her off balance. “Sister, I know we aren’t exactly experts, but at least aim for my face instead of this cotton swab on my head.”

“Sorry, Luna,” Celestia tried again, only to hit the wheel of her sister’s cycle, causing it to slip and Luna to fall face forward, dropping one pie right in the direction of where her face landed while the other pie managed to hit Celestia square in the face.

The monarch of the sun landed flat on her shoulders, flank high up in the air, which was immediately greeted by yet another pie landing square on it, while a fourth pie managed to cream Celestia again in the face, right as she managed to clean her face off.

Though the entire debacle was undoubtedly something for the statue ponies, they weren’t sure what to make of it. However, Pinkie was having a different reaction. Initially, the sight of Luna’s hair getting hit made her mouth twitch further, then having her fall into a pie forced her to hold her mouth shut, and finally, once Celestia got triple pied, poor Pinkie couldn’t hold it anymore and was laughing like mad.

Wiping their faces clean, the two sisters looked at each other and laughed. “Seems being clowns wasn’t our calling after all.” Celestia chuckled as she removed chunks of pie from her mane.

“Too true, but more importantly, Pinkie Pie, you laughed! So, as per the rules stated earlier, you have to help us!” Luna exclaimed, silently happy this also meant their time as clowns was over as well.

“Fine, yeah, I’ll change things back to normal,” Pinkie said, still chuckling somewhat before snapping a claw and making the entire pyramid disappear. They were now in a shabby and somewhat somber-looking home, and the stone golems were now normal earth ponies, all just looking confused. The outside ponies had similarly returned to normal, sharing the family’s own perplexity.

Pinkie then began to change herself. Her mane started to poof out like the sisters' afros and somehow became lighter in color. At the same time, her previously dull eyes became bright and cheerful, leaving Pinkie positively squealing. “Oh wow, what's happening to me!?”

She then started shooting streamers from her talon and paw. Then a massive birthday cake appeared, slammed onto the table, and splattered the pastry all over the walls as she laughed.

“Oh wow! This is amazing!”

Celestia grimaced at the cake. Her old self would have been drooling to see so much of her favorite pastry, but now she could barely stand the sight of it. “Yes, well, don’t get too carried away. You need to turn things back to normal, not go crazy with your newfound powers.”

“Right! Well, come on then!” Pinkie smiled as she threw the two alicorns onto her back.

“Wait, you didn’t turn us back to normal! We're still clowns!” Luna practically screamed in fury at her still cartoonish state.

Sadly, Pinkie Pie wasn’t listening as she started flying over Las Pegasus and saw a bunch of foals running around. With a snap of a claw, they were turned back to adults or old ponies; they went to Appaloosa, now filled with cows with crazy colorful spots plastered on them, all munching away on grass chocolate grass, and with a snap, they were all turned back into ponies and buffalo again.

Eventually, they came across the fire-breathing chickens, and she snapped a claw, and they all suddenly turned to dragons who were still pissed off but instantly flew off, happy to simply be able to leave and not interested in a fight.

Satisfied, Pinkie then turned her attention to the statues and, with another snap, made them literally poof out of existence. She then fired a beam of magic straight at the clouds. In moments, the previously dark, tear-soaked clouds were replaced with normal, white, puffy clouds….that were raining gumdrops.

“Pinkie!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Pinkie squeaked. Then, with another snap, the gumdrops turned to normal rain. They then continued their flight towards Canterlot.

Back in Canterlot, the others were gathered around the massive dining table with a spread-out banquet. Despite prior events, everypony was laughing, talking, and having a good time. The lone exception was the Evil Twilight, currently sulking in her stewing in her own seat and munching away.

Twilight glanced at her counterpart from across the table and looked ready to reach out and speak with her, only for a rumbling sound to get her attention.

In an instant, a massive, pink draconequus came smashing through the window, sending Luna and Celestia crashing into the table.

“Awww, that was awesome!” Pinkie Pie laughed out loud at the land before noticing the crowd in the room and squealing with excitement. “Oh, come on!? You're having a party; this is the best you can do!”

With that, she snapped a claw; the place was transformed. The bland, dull food became various kinds of baked goods and sweets. There was a place for “pin the tail on the pony, " with pin-ups of Celestia and Luna as clowns. There was now a dance floor with a massive disco ball, and cheerful music was blasted throughout the room.

“Now it's time to make this entire castle into a super party palace!”

The princesses, getting up from their crash, both shouted, “NO! " Without another word, they splashed some “disenchanting water” onto her, turning her back into a pink earth pony.

Now, finally back to normal, though her hair and eyes were still as bright and lively as a few moments ago, Pinkie did look a tad sheepish at her outburst. “Oopsie, guess I got a bit carried away, huh?”

“Yes,” Celestia and Luna snapped angrily as they both got up and poured the water onto themselves, reverting to their regal selves. Their clown attire faded, and their manes became long and wavy once more.

However, before either of them could relax, Celestia spotted the Evil Twilight currently seated at the table, unchained and with virtually no restraints, seemingly having a normal conversation with the other Twilight and a few other mares she’d managed to pull over.

“Seems Twilight was busy while we were away.” Luna chimed, looking cautiously optimistic, though Celestia still looked ready to say something. However, another rumble was heard outside, followed by the screams of many ponies.

“Oh, for Faust's sake!” Luna shouted. “What now! What more could we possibly have to deal with?”

They, along with the Twilights, Starlight, and the other ponies, quickly rushed out to see the sky literally open up and gaped in horror at who they saw slowly fall through the gape.

“Finally! Now things can get interesting!” Discord said with a smirk, looking down upon the ponies with excitement and glee on his face. “So, who's ready to play?”

Chapter Thirteen: The End of the Journey

Discord was there, hovering over them with a sickening grin, peering down at the group. “Oh, you all thought you defeated me! That’s so adorable!”

Princess Celestia glared at him. Discord, their archnemesis, the monster who tortured her for an entire year, was finally here right before them! And while many would’ve felt terror at the sight of him, all she felt was rage and a desire for revenge.

As the mad Spirit of Chaos descended to their level, all the mare could think was the seemingly never ending misery he’d brought upon not just her and her sister, but all of Equestria. The madness, the misery, the corruption he’d brought out in so many ponies. All of it threatened to make her very being erupt with unbridled rage.

“Discord.” Celestia snarled, practically spitting the name out, much to his own amusement.

“Yes, it’s me, sorry for such a long hiatus, the author decided to take his sweet time writing this chapter, but I’m back now, so who really cares.” Discord chuckled, his snake-like body slithering in the air as if swimming through water. “I must admit, you impressed me, Little Celestia.”

A brief flash, and Celestia shivered, finding Discord directly behind her. “I mean, actually escaping from my little clown show was one thing, but you went the extra mile…or several and went all over the map.”

Another flash and a large, somewhat juvenile looking map of Equestria appeared. Small caricatures of herself, her sister and others quickly began running across the map, to the many locations they’d actually traveled to.

“And to think you were able to effectively change so much of the world I created and so quickly, well. Color me impressed.”

Discord’s entire body immediately turned a light shade of green, a sign above reading, “Green is apparently the color for being impressed. Who knew?”

Throughout the entire affair, Celestia remained completely stone faced, not the least bit amused by Discord’s antics. “Yes and?”

Frowning slightly at her lack of a reaction, the green color drained out of Discord’s body as if a faucet were turned and he was back to his normal colors.

“Guess my time away didn’t improve your attitude it seems.”

Celestia merely growled, to which Discord simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Eh, no big deal. I can easily change things back or make it worse! One of the benefits of being an all powerful, reality warping spirit after all.”

With another snap of his fingers, a large book appeared before him, the words Discords Most Chaotic Ideas, crudely written on the cover. “And lucky for you, I had plenty of time to think of all kinds of new and exciting transformations for this drab old world. Honestly the clown gag was getting old.”

Discord’s claw immediately ripped a page out of the book, familiar horns, squeaking shoes and afros started to pop out of the sheet of paper. “Seriously, you’d think I was Todd Philips or something with all the clown nonsense.”

With another snap the paper was turned into confetti, being blown away on the wind. “Getting serious for a moment though…” Discord’s lion paw quickly pushed his eyes downward into a more glare-like expression. “Did you honestly think you had any chance of beating me? I mean really?”

His whole body turned into a massive question mark, Celestia rolling her eyes at his antics. “Can you just get to the point already, Discord?”

With a huff, Discord turned back. “Fine. But seriously, the Elements of Harmony?” With another snap, some kind of hologram of the Elements appeared next to him. “I mean could you be anymore Season 1? I know they’re the go to mcguffin around here, but I was expecting a little more creativity from you two.”

Luna eyed him with a narrow gaze. “They seemed to work quite well the first time.”

“Oh, finally decided to start talking little Moonie?” Discord smirked. “And of course they worked the last time.”

With a snap a projector appeared in the sky, depicting the very first time Discord was vanquished. “It's not exactly difficult to defeat someone when they make no attempt to fight back after all.”

“Then why didn’t you stop us?” Celestia demanded angrily, glaring both at the moment of their triumph and it being thrown back in their face.

Another snap and the projection was gone, leaving Discord alone in the sky. “My dear Celestia, I’m chaos incarnate. Nothing I do is supposed to make any kind of logical sense. But if you want me to be honest, I was growing rather bored being in control for so long and figured being trapped in stone would be a fun little change of pace.”

That answer left Luna and Celestia stunned.

“Wait, is that why you haven’t already stopped us? You perhaps want to be turned to stone again?”

A loud buzzer immediately sounded.

“Of course not! Sure it was amusing for the first few months, but do you have any idea how maddening being forced to stay still like that for a thousand years is?” Discord’s entire body turned to stone for a brief moment, before his mouth and eyes moved again. “Do you have any idea how many birds used me as a repository for their waste?”

Celestia and Luna actually turned a little green at the question, while Discord turned to face the reader.

“And yes, I did self censor myself when mentioning the little surprises those birds left me with. Trying to keep things classy.”

Quickly looking back at the pair of princesses, he smirked. “Truth is, I let all this happen because I just wanted to see you try. Give you something to do, inspire a little confidence. But now, I think it’s only fair that I respond in kind, don't you think?” The creature laughed as he snapped a claw, and they were suddenly in a massive arena with hundreds of ponies in the stands.

With a flick of the wrist, one of his talons became a microphone, to which he gave it a few taps, and then proclaimed, “Fillies and Gentlecolts! Welcome to the Discord Show! It’s me vs. the Princesses of Equestria and friends, I guess.” He shrugged. “I’ll need to work on the title. Guess the Editor decided to be lazy this time around.”

With another shrug, he threw his forearms into the air, before boxing gloves appeared on his hands, a matching pair of shorts around his waist. “Now come on, give me your best shot!”

The cheers from the crowd roared through the stadium, Luna and Celestia standing shoulder to shoulder.

“Should’ve realized he wouldn’t make this easy. But is the spectacle really necessary?” Luna asked, feeling a chilling sense of deja vu from all the eyes on them.

Celestia simply continued to level a glare at Discord. “We can’t dwell on that now, all we can do is focus on the task at hand.”

Her eyes quickly shifted to the others in their group. “No matter what happens, remember we must stand together as one. Only the Harmony between us will be able to ensure we prevail.”

The others nodded and focused on the goal, and they all took the time to stand up and prepare for whatever might happen next.

“So, what exactly is the plan sister? He obviously isn’t just going to wait for us to use the Elements.” Luna whispered as quietly as she could in spite of the loud crowd.

“For now, we keep his attention focused on us. Hopefully he’s ignorant about Twilight and the others.”

With a nod, the two opened their wings and took to the sky, Discord’s eyes literally bending out of his skull and following them. “Ah, deciding to keep my eyes on you two and not your little friends. How predictably noble.”

Neither princess answered his taunt, instead charging blasts of magic before firing them at their tormentor.

Discord merely smirks, a poof of magic suddenly revealing himself in a black robe lined with green, blonde hair on his head and a little wand in his left paw. “Come now my dears, is that really the best magic you can come up with?”

With a wave of the wand, the blasts of magic suddenly changed direction before swirling into a spiral in front of Discord.

“Here’s a little of my own personal Hocus Pocus. Enjoy!”

With another toss the blasts changed to a more purple color before hurdling at the two princesses and exploding in a multi-colored puff of smoke.

Another wave from Discord revealed the pair of princesses had to their anger been turned into clowns, though different from the more circus variety they were used to.

Luna was now clad in a purple suit with a green undershirt, her mane similarly dyed green, with a white face, red lips and large yellow teeth of all things.

Celestia meanwhile was clad in a more old fashioned silver suit with poofy wrists and legs, a large victorian style collar, an orange and spiked mane, and large buck teeth.

The transformation left both princesses more than a little steamed.

“AGAIN WITH THIS!?” Luna shouted, looking at her new attire. “Didn’t you just say you were tired of clowns?”

Discord merely chuckled. “I did, but figured one more for the road couldn’t hurt and I upped the ante a little. Less birthday party and more prestigious clowns for you two, befitting your royal status after all.”

Celestia certainly didn’t look amused, but made no attempt to rip off the costume, knowing it would do little good. “Is this really all just a game to you? Do you care even a little about all the pain you’ve caused?”

Discord took a moment to stroke his beard. “Hmmm, yes to the first part, pretty much everything is a game to me. As to the second one….no, honestly I couldn’t care less.”

With another snap a large gauge appeared over his head, the word Care in the middle, with a large yellow arrow firmly in the red area that read No!

“After all, why should I care? I’m an immortal, all powerful spirit, I blink and civilization changes while centuries go by. The only constant in my life as of late is you two. Which is why you’re so entertaining.”

Furious, Celestia flew towards him, blasting energy from her horn. He smirked, and with a snap, party streamers and balloons shot out instead. He gave a yawn, and then, with another snap, the two mares were standing over a tightrope with unicycles again, with their wings and horns missing.

“I know I said I was done with the clowns, but really I’m just doing it to annoy you two at this point.” Discord smirked, pulling popcorn out of thin air as the princesses struggled to stay balanced. “Might as well milk it for what it’s worth.”

Princess Luna was now looking pale as she shouted, “Twilight, do something!?”

Celestia did her best to keep her balance, seeing no net underneath. She could only hope that the “Good Twilight” was able to convince the “Evil Twilight” to help them.

Some distance away, the “Evil Twilight” looked up and saw Discord jeering at the two princesses, dangling on tightropes with unicycles. Remarkably his attention seemed solely focused on them, while ignoring the rest of the assembled group.

Meaning at this moment, she needed to act, while they had the chance.

She turned to the others all looking at her and cleared her throat, “Look, I'm the last pony who should be asking this, but I don’t have any other choice; I was a monster like him; I don’t deserve to be here and you have every right not to trust me, I know I wouldn't. However, right now we need to find a way to stop him, or he’ll torture the princesses and probably everypony in Eqeustria for the rest of eternity in his never-ending sick games or worse.”

There was a period of silence from the assembled ponies, more than a few eying her with skepticism that left the former tyrant feeling regret hanging around her neck.

However, shockingly, Applejack trotted over and stood beside her. ,“Fine, but you better not be trying to pull a fast one on us. I might be out of practice, but I can still buck you into next week.”

Pinkie Pie then approached as well, though her eyes looking over Twilight with caution. Yeah, the last thing I remembered before becoming a draconequus was you working for him.”

Twilight winced, again being reminded of her many past misdeeds. “Yes, that was me. But, now I know he was only trying to use me. Please, you have to believe me when I say I want to see him turned back into stone as much as the rest of you,” Twilight pleaded. “And once this is over, I’ll gladly accept whatever punishment you see fit. Just please, trust me this one time.”

This time Rainbow Dash was the one responding, getting right in Twilight’s face and looking her square in the eye. “I don’t know how much we can trust you, but from the look of it, you’re at least being sincere this time.”

Rarity and Fluttershy quickly joined the pair. “Let’s just get it done, we can work out our many issues later.”

They all seemed to be somewhat in agreement on that as they nodded. Then, they were given their respective elements and stood firm against the creature who finally noticed them. “Aww, you all decided to become friends! How adorable! But I’m afraid you’re a few seasons too late for that to matter now.“

Then, with a snap of a claw, he poofed over near them with a smirk, “Though this is surprising. Two former apprentices of mine are standing against me. I mean…” Another snap and he was suddenly clad in a black hooded robe. “Do you really hate me that much?”

Pinkie Pie stomped a hoof and shouted, “We aren’t going to fall for your tricks, Discord.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow shouted, “You're going to pay for what you did to Cloudsdale!”

Discord merely chuckled at the threat, barely giving the flier any attention.

“Oh really? I thought you liked napping all day. Remind me, what was your name again. Was it Rainbow Smash, or was it Trash?”

“It’s Rainbow Dash!”

“Oh yes, now I remember it’s Rainbow Crash!” he said, a large scoop of chocolate ice cream falling on her head as he cackled on. “Please, you girls might’ve had the chance to stop me a long time ago, but we’re a little past that point I’m afraid.”

Undeterred, Rainbow Dash burst out of the ice cream, screaming as she shot at him, making the creature laugh. He flew above her. “My my, seems like you need to cool off a bit more Rainbow.”

With another snap, more scoops, this time of sherbert fell down, pinning the mare to the ground.

“Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy called out, trying to fly over, only to immediately find herself turned into a tiny yellow rabbit.

“Sorry Fluttershy, but since we never had our little redemption arc I’m free to do whatever I want, even to you.” He smirked down at the now cowering little rabbit.

Twilight blinked, seeing what Discord was doing, getting them angry, making them act without thinking.

She turned to see Rarity, at least standing by, looking scared. Conversely, both Pinkie Pie and Applejack were charging at Discord as well, only for Applejack to quickly be levitated off the ground, thrown into a box and spat back out in a frilly pink dress.

As for Pinkie, Discord simply was content to pick her up by her mane. “Oh Pinkie, I’m so disappointed. You could have become my apprentice. It's a shame we had to end things like this.”

“I will never be your apprentice! Ya hear me?!” Pinkie shouted, her mouth for a brief moment seeming to turn into a megaphone, actually causing Discord’s whole body to quiver.

“Yes, I hear you! I’m confident Canterlot heard you as well.” He clamped her mouth, and she tried talking only to find herself and Applejack tossed haphazardly into a display box.

Dusting his hands off, he then turned to the two unicorns. “So that just leaves you two? Not going so well, is it?”

Twilight however, unfazed by fear, slammed a hoof on the ground and snarled. “Discord, you were here all along, weren't you? Why did you leave us? Did we all mean nothing to you!?”

Her accusation caused Discord to leap back, stunned at the accusation. “Why, that is perhaps the most absurd, outlandish…and completely accurate accusation.”

His paws quickly clapped, snapping his fingers, causing a stereotypical detective outfit and pipe to appear on Twilight’s body. “You’re a regular sleuth it seems, bravo my dear. Truly.”

Twilight angrily spat out the pipe and used her magic to rip the outfit off. “Answer the question. Why did you leave?”

Seeing she wasn’t going to play along, Discord rolled his eyes and leaned back in the air.

“Wel, if you want me to be 100% honest, I mainly wanted to see how you’d use the Chaos Magic I gave you. Hard to discover how skilled a student is if you hold their hoof for them all the time.”

Discord’s lionpaw waved at Twilight, revealing her left foreleg in his grasp. Twilight however remained shockingly unfazed, resulting in Discord returning the limb.

“Besides that, you were always trying to get my approval.” He put his paw and claw together and whined in a perfect imitation of her voice, “Oh please Mister Discord, look what I did. Aren’t you impressed?” He rolled his eyes and made a blah sound. “What a teacher’s pet, at least Trixie had the sense to act on her own ambitions and desires, you were obedient and starved for attention. Always following me around like a little….Well.”

With a snap of his claw Twilight was suddenly transformed into a little purple puppy. “You know the expression.” With another snap he tossed a small bone in her direction, which she happily took and started nibbling on as Discord shifted his attention to Rarity.

“And thus we come to the most dramatic of the bunch…or at least you normally would be. Honestly, not too sure what to think of you in this timeline.” .”

The mare was shaking in her hooves, then stopped. She stood up, bowed, and said, “Discord, I admit it. We can’t defeat you. You win, we concede.”

Princess Celestia looked down and shouted, “Don’t! You have to keep fighting!”

“Keep Fighting, don't let him win!” Luna shouted as well.

Discord ignored her then with a smile. “Well this is certainly a plot twist. Granted I wasn’t expecting you to throw hooves. Remind me , you were one of Trixie’s correct?”

For a brief moment a familiar maid outfit appeared on Rarity’s body, her instinctively doing a courtesy in response.

With another snap, the outfit was gone as he flew towards the unicorn, twirling a tail around her face. “Well, I’m nothing if not fair. A little disappointed, but are you truly willing to concede and let me continue to rule Equestria as I see fit.”

Rarity kept her head low as she shook it in the negative. “Forgive me, but I can’t do that. However, I’m certainthat the princesses will, on the condition you no longer torture them…instead you can torture me.”

Discord paused as both princesses pleaded, “Rarity, stop, don't do this!”

With another snap, both Princess’s mouths were zipped shut as Discord tapped his chin, intrigued. “This is actually quite unexpected. I’ve never had a willing participant for my antics. Though calling it torture feels like a gross exaggeration. This is a T rated story after all.”

Rarity simply continued to quiver as she spoke. “Whatever you want to call it, you can do whatever you want with me, but you must turn my friends and the princesses go and turn them back to normal.

Discord's pondered for a moment. “Hmm, it is an interesting proposal. Almost takes the fun out of it…but then again I suppose it’s not the worst thing in the world.” His grin turned mildly sinister as his face stretched till it was inches from Rarity’s face. “And you’ll agree to whatever sort of thing I do to you, without complaining about it later?”

“As long as you leave them alone,” Rarity whispered.

“Well then my little pony. Discord struck out a claw to Rarity who shook it without hesitation. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

With another snap, the princesses and the rest of the ponies were returned to normal, all placed roughly together, standing and pristine as before.

Twilight shouted, “Now!”

Before Discord could respond, a massive blast from Twilight, Celestia, Luna and even Rainbow and Fluttershy using some lightning, blasted Discord into a trench across the ground. After about a moment, he burst from the ground like a mole, quickly peeling the various wounds and scratches on his body like stickers.

“Alright, I thought you might try to backstab me, but really. You think you’ll win even after all that?”

“We’re not going to let you torture Rarity or anypony else!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Yeah! She’s our friend, you got that, you big meanie!” Fluttershy chimed in.

“She put her life at stake for us, you think we’ll abandon her to be your toy!?” Applejack snarled.

“Yeah! Your idea of fun is gross and horrible!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“I…I would have easily given my life for my friends and the princesses, and as long as they're with me, we’ll defeat you.” Rarity cried out with tears flowing down her cheeks.

Twilight approached, a determined yet also regretful look in her eyes. “I was a coward and a monster like you, yet everypony here was willing to look past that and treat me as a friendI…I don’t deserve this and should be imprisoned under the castle, but even the princesses gave me a second chance. Maybe one day you can get one, too.”

Discord immediately rose up, gagging comically as they spoke. “Oh spare me this disgustingly saccharin talk and empty platitudes. I believe I’ve dragged this whole thing out long enough, time to get back to some chaos.” He then raised his claw up and snapped….and nothing happened.

“Wait what?” Discord again tried to snap his fingers, but other than a small spark, nothing happened. “What…what did you do?”

“The magic of friendship,” Twilight whispered as the Elements of Harmony started to appear above the heads of the six mares, before the beams from each jewel erupted up into a massive rainbow that flew towards Discord.

“Oh not again.” Discord muttered before pulling a tiny umbrella to try and cover his head, before the beam consumed him, turning his body back to stone. With another flash, the massive stadium disappeared, the many ponies in the stands left standing in the field looking confused but otherwise unharmed along with the others.

“So, uh, did we win?” Rainbow Dash asked, half expecting something to happen.

Then a massive table fell into the middle of it, and the alicorn Twilight flew over and landed nearby, her eyes wide. " Are you all okay? We just saw Discord teleport you.”

Princess Celestia gave a nod as she turned to the massive stone map and the elements all glowing together in the center. “Th…this is the Cutie Map, right?”

Twilight nodded, slowly coming towards it and putting a hoof on it. “Yeah, it is…Though it’s a little earlier than when we got it.”

Starlight and Spike ran over as the pink-coated unicorn's eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is!?”

“Yeah,” Twilight mumbled. “It’s our way home.”

Starlight paused, looked around, and said, “We...well…I think you all know the moment Twilight and I return everything you all did…it would be like if it never happened. All the work you did to save this Equestria will be for nothing.”

Princess Celestia slowly got up, now regaining her regal composure. “We know, Starlight, look at us.” She flung a wing, and yes, they won, but they were surrounded by hundreds of ponies who were still scared out of their minds, almost in tears. “The horrors inflicted on them aren’t just going to go away because Discord is gone. Let alone the thousands misplaced and the years of work it will take to rebuild what we once had.”

Luna nodded, similarly regaining some of her former regality., “My sister is right; this is sadly a hollow victory, but do not dwell on that. Go back and fix the past; that way, no pony here has to remember what Discord's Chaos Magic has done.”

Starlight nodded, tears in her eyes, “I promise I’ll do the right thing. I...I'm so sorry for all of this.”

The rest of the assembled offered the pony a mixture of expression, though some colder than others, some degree of compassion was evident in each.

With a final glance, Twilight took Starlight by the hoof along with their Spike. They all stood together and waved goodbye as a light enveloped them, and they were gone. In that instant, a bright flash erupted from the Cutie Map and enveloped the entire world.

Princess Celestia blinked as she was now suddenly sitting at a table during what looked to be a routine, boring meeting about taxes with a dozen other nobles sitting around her. She rubbed her forehead as if she had an awful nightmare…something about her dressing up as a clown!? And being laughed at with Discord…things were rather foggy.

Princess Celestia shook her head, thinking she must’ve dozed off for a second, and then she turned to see Fancy Pants leading the meeting turn and asked, “Princess, are you alright?”

She flashed him a smile, “Oh yes, please continue.”

The princess went about her day as usual, still mulling over the odd dream she had. By the time she was preparing to retire for the evening, she received a long, massive scroll from Spike.

Curious, she ordered some tea and sat at her desk as she began to read it over. She’d barely gotten through the first paragraph before her jaw dropped reading the story of how Starlight, the dictator of “Our Town,” went back in time to ruin the lives of Twilight and her friends, which ended up with Discord taking over and the accounts of the long, painful journey they went on to save Equestria.

As she read on, she found an extensive apology from Starlight and a note that she was now a student of Twilight’s. When she finished, she looked up and saw that it was about three in the morning.

Taking a moment to let the scope of what she’d read set in, she finished her cold tea and then wrote back about how proud she was of Twilight and to keep her posted. Then, with that, she rolled up the scroll and set it down, realizing all of the word events were not a dream but an alternate timeline…she shivered but realized that’s why she was so tired…also she needed to share this with her sister.

A few years later…

“Here you go,” Celestia chirped as she signed another copy of their book to a smiling pegasus mare, who thanked her as she flew off. She alongside her sister with Luna standing by her in a bookstore. Luna was smiling as they had recently retired as princesses.

It had been a bit of a spur of the moment decision, but the memories of what had happened to them under Discord’s thumb had weighed rather heavily on both of them, as if both had aged another thousand years in a single day. Some of the memories remain fresh in their minds even now.

However, there were some positives to the experience. With a little coaxing from Twilight, they wrote the events of this alternate timeline into a series of books called "The Princesses in Discordtopia.” And, surprisingly, they’d become quite popular.

Well, I have to say writing the events of our adventures was the best idea you ever had?” Luna said as she signed another copy for a waiting stallion. “I daresay we may have A.K. Yearling beat at this rate.”

“You think so? It wasn’t making Twilight my student or sending her to Ponyville so that the events in this book didn’t actually happen?”

Luna looked as though she’d swallowed her tongue before trying to regain some degree of dignity. “Well, we can say it was your third best idea. Still.” Luna levitated a copy of the book to her eyes, eying the cover depicting herself and Celestia clad in their clown attire. “I don’t remember any of it. I still have dreams about it, yes, , but it doesn’t feel real.”

“No, and the worst part is the many details we’ve likely gotten wrong.” Celestia’s smile dropped somewhat as some of her own dreams flashed through her mind. “ Thankfully, not a single pony we talked to outside of Twilight and Starlight actually remembers anything, so in the end, most will just see it as a harmless “what if?” tale.”

Luna nodded, shivering, and added, “Yes, though I…still am quite scared of clowns.”

“You're not the only one,” Celestia whispered as she smiled, singing another copy of their book to another fan.

Then suddenly, Discord popped in wearing a clown suit, making the two sisters shriek in terror, before glaring angrily at the playful spirit, who immediately raised his hands in defense. “Oh, come now, it was just a prank?”

“Seriously, Discord!” Celestia snapped.

“If we had any sense, we would turn you back to stone!” Luna cried.

Discord rolled his eyes again as he snapped a claw, taking off the outfit. “Apologies; I just came to say that the Discord in your books was far too mean and cruel; I would’ve just chased you around a few times and gotten bored.”

Despite this Discord being “reformed,” Celestia eyed him, as she never fully trusted him after the time travel incident with Starlight. “Yes, I certain that’s exactly what would happen. Anyways, did you read them?”

“Yes, of course, I did,” Discord yawned, taking the book out with some glasses, “My review is as follows, your book was fairly enjoyable and thrilling about how a single choice can cause a chain of ripples that can have devastating consequences and that time travel sucks. However, I have one problem: the events in the book describe a cruel and entitled version of myself that would never go as far as torturing you for my entertainment.” With a slight rassberry, he toss the glasses to the side. “Also, I think you could've changed the name!? Come on, you named yourself Princess Sunspot, for crying out loud!”

Celestia eyed him still. " Did forget why we sealed you in stone a thousand years ago, right?”

Discord crossed his arms and huffed like a child being disciplined by his mother. , “Alright, maybe I was a bit like this Discord, but still, at least this wins all those “what if Discord fought blank” arguments I hear you ponies talk about. Of course, I would win against most of them! I'm Discord, Lord of Chaos!”

Luna rolled her eyes and grumbled, “I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have a line of ponies wanting their books signed. So are you here for a signature or just to waste time?”

Discord paused, lifted a talon,. “I um,....came…t..to..um…” He sighed, “I was trying to say in my previous review of your interpretation of me that even though Discord is not technically me, I still feel obliged to apologize for all the horrible things he did on his behalf.”

Celestia blinked, sighed and nodded seeing that was the closest she had ever seen Discord to an apology,. “We forgive you for the things he's done. Considering everything you’ve done for Equestria since, I’d say you’ve earned that much.”

“Sure, whatever,” Luna grumbled, still sore about the whole clown thing.

“Splendid, that's all that I came to say, now if I’ll excuse me, I’m do for tea for Fluttershy, toodles!” He was off in a flash, as Luna grumbled, “Still think we should just turn him back to stone?”

“It's not off the table, but I do believe he is apologetic.” Celestia yawned as they wrapped up the book signing, and then they took the bits they earned donating to various charities across Equestria.

As the sun started to set they then both stared through the cobblestone streets, with Celestia whispering, “So, Luna, I have to admit that even though I don’t remember what happened, I came to realize how much your friendship means to me.”

“Really?”

Celestia held her close with her wings wrapped around her, “All I know is if anything in that book actually happened, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. And it pains me to say this, but I am the one who was wrong a thousand years ago. I was a horrible sister, and I should’ve seen the pain you were in. I wish I could use Starswirl’s spell to go back in time and convince my past self to go talk to you and stop being a princess for five seconds and just your sister.”

Luna hugged her sister back, throwing her wings tightly around her. “I thought of the same going back in time, telling myself not to be so riled up with jealousy and just try to talk to you as well.”

Luna slowly broke the hug and stared up at the rising moon, the place she’d spent so many years and that had ultimately been the start of the many adventures they’d experienced these past few years.

“I imagine many a pony wishes they could try to do what Starlight did travel to the past and try to correct whatever mistakes or wrongs they believe had been done to them. It is a tempting thing. But that is not for them or use to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The Princess of the Night gave her sister another hug, nuzzling her neck like they had done so many times in the past. “We’re both guilty of making mistakes and have more than paid for them. So let us not dwell on the past and simply focus on the future.”

Celestia smiled at her sister and nodded. “Walking towards a new dawn I suppose. I like the sound of that.”

With final hug, the pair extended their wings and took to the sky, confident that the future that awaited them would be far more peaceful compared to the past they left behind.

Chapter one: Escape from the Capital of Chaos

Celestia awoke with a start to what she could only assume was the loudest rooster to exist, possibly cawing all the way from Ponyville.

The former Princess of Equestria looked upward with a sad and forlorn expression as she peered upward to see the sun slowly rising in the sky. It was a definitive reminder that she no longer held any sway over the enormous celestial body, though that was not the cause for her sorrow.

The mare slowly rose from what appeared to be a bed of straw in a cage just barely large enough for her to stand up straight. The alicorn looked to see the mirror behind her, gazing upon Equestria's once proud ruler, now reduced to a circus clown with her once long, beautiful mane transformed into an oversized, poofy afro. Her muzzle is now adorned with a comically oversized red rubber ball and a comically blue top in place of her normal regalia. Worst of all, her once majestic cutie mark depicting the sun proudly was now a sun-shaped balloon.

It was indeed a far cry from the pony who'd often left many a being awestruck by her presence, as opposed to now merely invoking laughter.

The former monarch, however, had long grown accustomed to her jarring appearance, seeing it'd been years since she saw herself in any form of dignified attire.

With a defeated sigh, the princess turned to see dozens of fellow clown ponies rolling around on unicycles, many tossing pies into their faces and seemingly acting as if this was normal. It seemed nearly all of her subjects had succumbed to Discord's magic, utterly oblivious to what had happened to them.

That certainly seemed true as some of the transformed ponies started to chuck pies at her, something none of them would've dared even consider not long ago. However, Celestia was ready as she instinctively caught the pies with her horn, stabbing them through on top of each other, avoiding getting even a splotch of cream on her body.

Treating it as barely an inconvenience, Celestia lowered her head to the ground, allowing the pastries to slide down harmlessly before shaking off the remaining cream. Eyeing the clown ponies in preparation for another pastry pelting, a squeak shifted her attention to the left of her.

Looking around, she saw her sister, now covered in crust and cream, had not been quite as reactive.

Like her elder sibling, Luna's mane was styled into a poofy afro, and a large, rubber clown nose similarly covered her muzzle. Along with some equally bright clothing and an altered cutie mark, she looked like any other clown except for the visible facelines amidst all the cream on her face.

Grumbling tiredly, she quickly wiped most of the filling away, only grabbing a single half splattered from her head before taking a large bite as that was all the food they would get before taking a seat within the cage.

Letting out another sigh, Princess Celestia heard a rumble of thunder, and she perked up, seeing it was about to rain. She then walked out a cup outside the bars, and soon chocolate rain poured down before chugging the contents despite it raining from the sky.

The chocolate milk wasn't that bad as Luna had copied her sister's actions, right down to chugging the beverage like it was water. The two sat together in silence with the steady rain of chocolate milk pitter patting the top of their cage.

"So, did you get a good night's sleep?" Celestia finally asked mid-sip, wiping a fresh milk mustache from her lip.

"Yeah, I guess…." Luna's tone betrayed her words, looking at Celestia, utterly exhausted and annoyed. "Be honest, sister, when do we ever get a goodnight's sleep in this hole?"

"You have a point there," Celestia sighed as another pie slammed into the side of her head, the Princess showing no reaction outside of taking a sample from the latest projectile into her mouth. "Hmm, blackberry this time."

"Might I have some of that? I'm quite partial to blackberries."

Peeling the pie from her head, Celestia slid it across to Luna, who immediately started to devour it with no care for decorum or ceremony. They'd long abandoned any care for that or even punishing the thrower.

Whoever they were before was long gone, their minds reduced to nothing but jokes and party balloons, as was true of everypony in Canterlot. At this point, the only silver lining to this whole situation was that while being caged and perpetually pied was annoying, at least they no longer performed shows in the massive tent in the center of town.

The princess shivered, remembering how they used to perform in front of hundreds of ponies, actively humiliated at every turn by Discord before placing them in stockades at the end of each show. And there they'd remain, prey to a seemingly endless assault of pies, cakes, and the occasional souffle, until the evening when they'd finally be returned to their cages. Rise and repeat, day in and day out, seemingly without end.

Then, almost suddenly, Discord disappeared a few days ago, and the two former princesses were left to rot in the cage.

It certainly wasn't that much of an improvement as Celestia started to stretch her legs abit, took out a unicycle while juggling some balls with her forelegs with Luna followed suit. This was all the exercise they could get to keep their limbs from atrophying as they tried to stay active. It didn't help that the only food they were provided was hardly considered healthy, cakes, pies, and cookies. A long time ago, Celestia considered that a dream, but now she would've given Canterlot's entire treasury for a salad or an apple.

This was their daily routine, and while at first hours seemed to drag on without end, now the time seemed to just fly by for them.

After cycling for hours, the two alicorns were exhausted as they lay down together, cuddling each other and wrapping their wings over their bodies for warmth and comfort. Celestia rested her head over her sister, and she could feel the dark blue alicorn shake beneath her, showing even despite a more surly demeanor as of late, the mare was indeed scared. Celestia held her sister even tighter as she felt the same way.

Despite the reprieve from their daily degradation in front of their former subject, the anxiety of not knowing what would happen next was terrifying. Will they be stuck in this cage forever? Will they ever escape and restore their once glorious country? Neither of them could say?

Celestia stared at the bars in front of her with a glare, wanting to just burst through them, fly off to take down Discord, and send him back to his stone prison. The thought made her horn glow, but a burst of confetti fired out instead of a blast of magical power. It was a painful reminder of just how much control the Spirit of Chaos had over them.

Discord had altered the very magic of the world, ensuring that even simple metal bars would keep the royal duo imprisoned, a fact that only further infuriated her. Yet that moment of anger quickly fizzled out like a match in a hurricane as she knew there was little she could do.

With a look of defeat on her face, she laid back down over her sister and closed her eyes, sleep being a single comfort she was afforded in this world. And with each day that passed, how she wished they would learn this whole experience was simply a dream they'd wake up from.

The next day, Celestia woke up, blinking with confusion as she was still moving despite not knowing where she was going. The former princess looked down and saw she was cycling on a unicycle over a tightrope.

Months ago, this would've left her falling flat on her face, but she'd long grown proficient enough to where tight rope riding was no different from a bike. It was still jarring as the former princess could see she was inside the giant circus tent while juggling a bunch of rolling pins.

All around, she could see crowds of clowns all laughing and jeering at her as countless objects were thrown her way. Bags of popcorn, pies, and water balloons, all thrown seemingly without end.

The alicorn did her best to avoid the barrage but dividing her focus between dodging and balancing proved quite the ordeal. Things only became more complicated when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

Yards away on another tight rope was her sister, similarly attempting to stay atop a high wire, with an added ball perched upon her nose. Miraculously she seemed to be holding herself up well, and she might make it to the other side. However, this moment of hope was crushed by malicious laughter from behind.

Celestia's head managed to turn to see, to her horror, that Discord was now hovering nearby, clapping his claws with an evil smile on his face, reveling in their misery.,

"Quite the performance, don't you think?" The audience howled in excitement, having halted their attack for the moment. "Though we've seen them do this old routine a dozen times before, and I think it's about time we shake things up abit, don't you think?"

Celestia and Luna gaped in horror as their tightropes sloped, and they were now rolling at top speeds over a ramp. The ramp was directed towards a ring of fire with sharks leaping from a pool that had appeared below them.

Both alicorns braced for their fate, only to find themselves able to miraculously clear the obstacles, landing right into a giant pile of mud. To add to the humiliation, they found the crowd continuing to laugh at them while hurling all kinds of items at them.

Discord simply sat on his chair, laughing and clapping his claws in applause. "Ah, you two make better clowns than princesses. So much more entertaining."

Both princesses wanted to scream or perhaps take a shot at the chaotic jester but could only endure, lacking the power to take a stand against him. At that moment, all they could do was hope and pray for something that would finally break this cycle of seemingly endless misery.

Twilight was adjusting her suit and top hat over her head, topped by a little bowtie around her neck. She then looked into a mirror and had this cunning smile on her face.

She was Discord's prized pupil and mastered Chaos Magic after his departure. He'd entrusted her with ruling The Capital of Chaos; luckily, the place mostly ran itself since nearly all the residents were literal clowns who spent all day riding unicycles and throwing pies at each other. Honestly, there wasn't much to do in "running things," hence why she could simply trot over to the giant circus tent where they had the former princesses perform in front of their former subjects.

Discord indeed had brought out the worst in the ponies and their jealousy of the princesses, creating a hate-fueled crowd to do his bidding, making the duo utterly miserable. A penance for a near eternity imprisoned in stone. And Twilight loved every second of it.

Initially, she'd been content to leave them in their cages to sulk while formulating new means to degrade them. The pool of sharks and flaming hoops was a little on the cliche side, she'd admit, but classics existed for a reason, and it was undoubtedly a fun sight to see.

After seeing the pair clear the track, she found her attention drawn to the sound of claps. Behind her were two Ursa Minors, led by Starlight Glimmer, slowly trotting over with her head lowered, leaving Twilight smelling at the pony.

The unicorn had appeared out of nowhere, unaffected by the Chaos Magic permeating the capital. Yet whether by genuine choice or simple fear, she followed Twilight's every word. And honestly, the purple pony enjoyed her company. Having somepony who wasn't a cackling birthday reject was a welcomed reprieve from the usual madness she'd witnessed.

"So, Starlight, are all the preparations ready?"

The pink-coated unicorn nodded as dutifully as ever, "Yes, Twilight, everything is ready for the show."

"Perfect! I can't wait!" The violet unicorn laughed and then turned her head towards the pink-coated unicorn as Starlight mumbled, "What about all the ponies you turned into animals?"

"Oh them!? They're just disposable pawns; they won't be missed. All that matters is making sure the princesses' suffering was long and painful as possible it's the one thing Discord wanted us to do, and we will do it as maliciously as we possibly can. Is that understood?"

"Yes, mam," Starlight mumbled again as she lowered her gaze, seeming somewhat hesitant, giving the ruling pony pause. Twilight still wondered who this unicorn was and why she was so eager to serve her. "Tell me, Starlight, why do you serve me so willingly?

"I told you I'm a student of Chaos Magic like you," the unicorn responded rather sheepishly.

"Yes, you told me that, but I don't believe you. Discord never mentioned you, and I've never heard of you." Taking a step forward, Twilight's horn started to glow, causing the clouds above to twist and warp violently. "For the moment, I'm willing to let you stay as I find your company amusing. However, if you step out of line for even one second, well… I've been interested in practicing my transformation magic concerning aquatic life. I'm sure my sharks will appreciate it."

One of the sharks popped out of the pool, eyeing Starlight with bloodthirsty eyes, causing the poor pony to back away quickly.

"Yes, mam," Starlight squeaked.

Satisfied, Twilight adjusted her top hat and depowered her horn, allowing Starlight to breathe easy. "Good to hear. Now, get the princesses and have them prepped. I need to start getting ponies to fill the seats! Tonight is going to be a night to remember!"

Needing no prompting, Starlight quickly sulked away as Twilight eyed her, still unable to shake something about the pony that bothered her. For a moment, she felt as though there was a trace of evil buried deep that matched her own. But there was still a sense that she couldn't trust her either. It was undoubtedly a frustrating issue on top of everything else.

Eyeing inside the tent, Twilight paid the pool another glance, smirking at the sight of a dorsal fin in the water. "Looks like tonight will be when I decide if I can rely on my little assistant. And if not..then she'll be shark chum."

Celestia woke up in cold sweat from her nap, looking somewhat shaken by her dream. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked around the cage and saw that she and her sister were both still in their dreary cage. Hardly a comfort, but certainly an improvement from being tortured and mocked within the tent. The mare laid her head back down as she looked up at the top of the cage and turned towards the outside of their cage, seeing the sun setting.

Despite all of the chaotic madness warping the once beautiful city into a cheap carnival, it seemed even he knew that messing with the sun was a bridge too far. But she couldn't raise the sun anymore, which brought a flare of rage inside her. The truth was Discord had allowed the sun and moon to rise and fall on their own and ripped that power from her and Luna purely out of amusement because he knew how much that honor meant to them. Even more, than stripping her status as a princess, it was like he'd ripped a part of her soul from her body.

Sadly this was a matter she wouldn't be able to dwell on for long.

"Hey Celestia, Luna!" a unicorn shouted as they turned to see a normal-looking light pink unicorn running towards them. She came near the cage as she was gasping, "Listen, I know you don't know me, but I'm going to get you out of here!"

Without giving them a minute to process, she pulled out a key and started to unlock the cages., "We don't have much time. Twilight will figure out I betrayed her soon enough and will come at us, but this is the only shot we have! Now come on!"

Still somewhat stunned by this, the former princess managed to get to her hooves, eyeing the mare cautiously and slowly. "Where exactly will we go? Everypony here is one of Discord's minions, and his magic has stretched across Equestria."

"There's a place where you'll be safe, trust me," Starlight replied, frantically checking every corner for trouble, "but we need to leave now!"

Celestia hesitated, fearing another trick, but nodded as she took her sister up by the hoof as they both took out their unicycles. However, both ponies glanced at the instruments before furiously tossing them to the ground, glaring at the devices before finally stepping out of the cages.

"Let's move; the further away we get, the better," Celestia spoke, a small hint of her previous confidence returning as the trio fled off through the city of circus clowns heading to Faust knows where.

"They what!?" Twilight roared hearing one of the circus clowns, a pegasus with a cute rainbow-colored vest and blue rubbery nose. He used to be a royal guard seeing his cutie marking as a sword made of balloons. Not that Twilight cared one hoof.

"I…I saw them escape with that pink tunic-

"Buck!? I knew I couldn't trust her!?" Twilight suddenly roared as she turned white with her mane bursting into flames. "You get every clown to find and capture them!?"

"Yes, mam," the former guard squeaked as he ran off. Twilight turned to the crowd of ponies in the stands before eying a nearby set of guards. Without a word, she fired a blast of magic from her horn, transforming the two into perfect and terrified clones of Luna and Celestia.

The fake alicorns looked rather squeamish as a devilish grin spread on Twilight's face as she cackled, "We're still going to have a show!? And you're going to be the stars! How lucky for you?"

Having cleared the main circle area, the three ponies ran through the city square, finding what appeared to be some kind of demented street carnival.

Countless booths and vendors were selling the greasiest looking food imaginable while offering all manner of games for those to play. Among those was a reasonably traditional dunk tank, save for the fact the water was replaced with chocolate milk, random objects in place of balls, and the cackling patrons seemed more interested in throwing said objects at the pony to be dunked rather than the target itself.

The demented act of the play was disheartening for Celestia to see, watching her normally peaceful and kind citizens happily tormenting each other in such a cruel manner. Yet she could offer no help to them for now, only hoping they could find a way to defeat Discord and free them all.

Running past several more booths, the pair quickly hid inside another booth, only to immediately regret it when they were met with an utterly putrid smell.

"What in the name of Faust is this?" Luna moaned as she held her nose in a vain attempt to block out the scent. "I'm starting to think we were better off in the cage."

"No, please come inside; I know it smells bad, but it's for a good reason; it'll keep unwanted ponies out!" Starlight added as she herded the two inside.

Upon entering, the two princesses were surprised when they saw a skunk of everything looking back at them. "Ah, at last. Well done, Starlight, that was fast."

A talking skunk that would've seemed crazy to Celestia or Luna a few months ago. Now, that was utterly benign and Celestia, for one, was willing just to accept it." Hello, and who might you be?"

"Right to the point, I see; well, that is fine with me. Once I was a zebra, I claim, and Zecora is my name."

"A zebra, this far into Equestria? I thought they typically remained in Paris?" Luna injected, eyeing the creature curiously.

"Indeed, across the sea is where I would roam till I made Ponyville my home."

Celestia looked surprised by this news, yet a hint of excitement and hope started to fill her. "Ponyville? Are you from there? The citizens, how are they?"

Being trapped by Discord for so long, Celestia had sadly not seen the outside of Canterlot in many moons and was only left to speculate the fate that befell her other subjects. To learn anything about their current state was something she couldn't ignore.

The skunk held up a paw and explained, "The ponies are well, I can say; however, things grow direr each day. Discord has another pony known to be quite the queen and from what I heard is quite mean."

Zecora quickly pulled a piece of paper from her large tail and unfurled it to reveal the image of a light blue unicorn with glowing red eyes, a black magician's hat and cape, and an amulet around her neck.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie?" Luna read the name below the image with a scoff. "Quiet the ego on this one."

Zecora seemed to agree as she continued her tale. "I kept the ponies that chose to flee when Discord brought chaos to Ponyville, you see. Yet, Discord's magic combined with that of Everfree, turning the ponies into beasts and trees."

Celestia looked horrified at this news, only able to imagine how her subjects felt, while Luna looked a mixture of anger and exhaustion. Starlight, in turn, opted to step in to lay things out., "Look, this is a lot to take in, and there's much more to discuss. But there's a way to take down Discord and restore Equestria to how it was."

"You're talking about the Elements of Harmony?" Luna had long considered such an option and knew it'd be their best chance to prevail, save for one hiccup.

Starlight nodded, making a slight glance at Princess Celestia. "Yup, I found all of them unscathed and ready for use."

Though this sounded hopeful, Luna looked less than happy, being reminded of darker times." I shouldn't be surprised. After I hid them when I was Nightmare Moon, it was only a matter of time before somepony found them." Luna's feelings of guilt immediately started to wash over her, recalling her poor decision all too well. "If only I hadn't been so thick-headed."

"Luna, you can't blame yourself for this." Celestia joined her sister at her side and tried to comfort her. "You couldn't have known. Discord would return." Luna was having none of it, looking up angrily with tears streaming down her face.

"It IS my fault, sister. I imprisoned you on the moon; I took the Elements way and left all of Equestria vulnerable so Discord could come along, knock me off my high horse and turn our country into this." Dropping on her flank, Luna's fire fizzled out, looking more like a child than a princess. "All this because I threw a temper tantrum."

Celestia could only hug her sister to try and ease her guilt, while Starlight opted to continue. "Anyway, the Elements are still at your old castle. We need to find the Element Bearers and have them use the Elements to reseal Discord."

"A sound plan, except we have no idea who the Element Bearers are or where they could be," Luna's voice choked with bitterness, still reeling from her past misdeeds. "Without them, the Elements are little more than rocks."

"I know that, luckily….I know exactly who they are." Starlight almost whispered that last part, knowing she was walking on shaky ground.

Celestia eyed the mare, her sense of paranoia sounding like an alarm, as she asked, "How do you know that? And how can you possibly be sure?"

Starlight seemed somewhat nervous as she gulped and stammered, "That's not important, but you have to trust me; we can find them. But getting to them might be a little tricky if what Zecora told me is anything to go by."

The zebra-turned skunk nodded. "Starlight is correct to be in the helm; Discord only prioritized you two and turned Canterlot into his realm. Yet his chaos has twisted the land; navigating it will be quite the demand ."

That much both princesses expected. While Discord seemed content to make them his personal playthings, they'd always considered him wreaking some havoc across Equestria. Yet they couldn't afford to let that slow them down, something Celestia was certain of.

"Very well, then we need to get going. The longer we stay here, the more we risk being imprisoned by Twilight."

Starlight nodded, eager to get out of Canterlot." Right now, Twilight is making her big debut to solidify her power, which is why the streets are mostly empty. If we're going to escape, we must do this now."

"She is right; it is time to go. However, please use these should you encounter a foe." Again the skunk seemingly pulled several objects, in this case, plastic balls, from her poofy tail. Celestia gave them a whiff and gagged as they smelt horrible. "What are they?"

"Something of my own creation, you see. Give them a toss, and your pursers will smell like me."

The princesses snickered at the idea; as they tucked the balls away in a nearby bag. The skunk then hopped from her stool onto Starlight's back. They all came out of the tent as Celestia and Luna jumped onto their unicycles. With Celestia carrying Zecora, Luna, in turn, decided to place Starlight on her back.

"There they are!"

A group of former royal guards spotted them while pursuing them on unicycles. But Celestia and Luna started running as fast as they could as they were being chased, flying through the streets, splitting up a nearby fork, hoping to avoid their pursuers.

Luna had Starlight on her back as she galloped through a hall of mirrors, practically assaulted by her various reflections as the guards that chased her came through. The chase came to an immediate halt when she suddenly crashed through a mirror, throwing her through the hall, and only with a bit of luck was she able to land back on her hooves.

The former princess of the night then looked around, wondering where Starlight was. Finding her compatriot proved challenging, thanks to all the different reflections and possible wall collisions. However, her search came in half when she gazed upon a mirror with teal blue eyes with slitted pupils.

Luna felt her stomach drop as once again she found herself staring down the reflection of her own dark self, Nightmare Moon.

The ethereal princess started to laugh maniacally, gleefully mocking the moon princess. "Just look at yourself, a clown running through an amusement designed for children, how far you've fallen! We were Equestria's rulers only a few years ago, and the night was eternal!"

"No, all we were was a tyrant. A short-sighted fool that has allowed Equestria to fall into madness. Becoming you was the greatest shame of my life," Luna growled as she trotted through the mirrors, trying to ignore her darker side's taunts.

Whether this was indeed Nightmare Moon, brought to life by Discord's chaos magic, or her mind deceiving her, it seemed this ghost would not be ignored. Luna's attempts to flee eventually found her surrounded by mirrors, all carrying the mocking image of what she once was.

"Regardless of what you want, I'm still here; just let me take over again, and we can take down Discord; without the Elements of Harmony!"

Rather than offer an answer, Luna simply kicked one of the mirrors in its reflection's face, more concerned with escaping the guards. "If we truly had the power to stop Discord, we'd have never fallen. You are merely a shadow, clawing at power you don't deserve, and I will never give into you again."

She began shattering mirror after mirror with another kick, sending glass in every direction. Amidst the sea of broken glass, an exit was finally visible, with Luna taking steps towards it. It was only when she glanced at a shard on a floor and noticed no pony on her back did she remember something.

"Ponyfeathers, I forgot. I need to find Starlight."

As for Starlight, the mare was groaning as she got up, rubbing her head. The mare turned to see mirrors similarly surrounded her. In the reflection of one, Starlight saw herself as she was a few months ago, with her mane braided over her head and her cutie mark being an equal sign. The reflection looked at the real Starlight with a devious smirk. "So, you found the princesses of equestria? But what does that matter when they learn it was your fault that everything is so bucked up!?"

Starlight flinched at the reminder. "I didn't know this was going to happen!? I…I just wanted to get my revenge on Twilight for ruining everything!"

"Yes, and now because of that, everything is utter chaos. Suddenly our idea of removing everypony's cutie marks doesn't seem so bad, does it?"

Starlight shoved a hoof on the ground, looking almost offended by such an idea., "No, after everything that's happened, look where that got us? Celestia knows where Sunburst is now in this hellhole, let alone everypony in OurTown is probably altered in some bucked up way just like these ponies and those in Ponyville!"

Logic didn't seem to faze her old self, looking as manipulative as ever." Yet, this is an opportunity for you to not only fix your mistakes but also take over as a princess. Bide your time, let Celestia and Luna take down Discord, then send them away into another timeline along with Twilight and her friends. From there, nothing could stop you from lying about them perishing in vanquishing Discord, allowing you to claim the throne!"

Starlight paused for a moment; the plan had some merit to it. Yet that same line of thinking caused all this mess to begin with. Yet still.

However, she couldn't reply as Luna came barrelling in, taking no time to stop as she pulled Starlight onto her back and kept running.

"Are you alright, Starlight?"

"I'm fine; let's just get out of here," Starlight mumbled as she was placed on Luna's shoulders with the idea of betraying everypony to make her plans of a utopia still fresh in her mind.

Separated from her sister, Celestia found herself at a "zoo," and there she saw many animals Twilight had turned ponies into.

There she saw seals forced to throw a ball between each other, elephants attempting to balance on a ball, and dogs jumping through hoops of fire. It was all rather cruel, and she wished to free them, but Zecora seemed to have read her mind as she whispered, "I wish we could help them, of course, but if we free them, Twilight will just hunt. Them down without remorse."

The mention of the mare left Celestia reminded of another question she'd wondered about Discord's right-hand mare for so long. "Zecora tells me, was Twilight always so cruel? Or is she simply another victim of Discord's madness?"

"I don't know, but this pains me as much as you. I can hear them crying for help as you do." Zecora gazed at the twisted sky above, "For now, we must end Discord's reign. Only then may we stop this pain."

Celestia nodded as she trotted through the zoo, only to pause upon finding a peculiar ride, "Why do I hate Celestia?" The curious alicorn stared at the sign with morbid curiosity running through her mind. "I think we should see this."

"I don't think that wise. You may not like what you see with your eyes."

Despite the warning, Celestia couldn't pull her eyes away from the ride and her curiosity. "This pony has a deep grudge against me, and I must've hurt her greatly to inspire such hatred. Perhaps if I learn why, I may be able to reason with her."

With a push, she entered the ride and arrived at a seemingly empty corridor where she saw cardboard cutouts of a little purple filly. A rather crude-sounding voice immediately started playing. "I was once a young filly who dreamed of going to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

A light appeared, showing another cut-out of the tiny unicorn, seated at a desk surrounded by mountains of books. "I studied every book I could find and learned all I could about magic. I was so sure I'd get in."

The princess lowered her head, fearing what would come next, as she saw another cutout of Twilight, now surrounded by many snobbish-looking unicorns, glaring down at the poor filly.

"But when I took my entrance exam and failed, that didn't stop me; I tried again and again. I failed each time but did everything I could to get in."

They then came upon a cutout of teenage Twilight writing a letter as the voice continued, "I then wrote a letter to Celestia for help, hoping that she could give me a chance to prove belonged in her school!"

The scene ended, but the ride jerked, and Celestia gasped out of fear, not being ready for what was to come as the ride dropped, and there saw a cruel visage of her in flames as Twilight was now crying, reading what she wrote.

"But my hopes were dashed as all she did was reply that magic may not be my talent! That was the only thing that mattered to me, and she didn't even give me a chance to prove myself! Thus I gave up on my dreams and left her behind."

Then happier music started to play as another curtain rose of Twilight using a wand to make a bunny come out of a top hat while ponies applauded her as the voice continued to narrate. "I was set to a life of being a stage magician and had to perform with basic illusion magic to make ends meet. It was a life I didn't care for, but it made me happy to make ponies smile with my tricks."

Then the ride turned around in a three-sixty. The curtains rose above Celestia, who sat back in fear as a cardboard cutout of Nightmare Moon towered over a group of ponies as the music became much darker.

"That was until the fateful day that Nightmare Moon imprisoned Celestia, and that was a grand day. It proved how hypocritical she was and allowed her sister to become a dictator who ruled Equestria with an iron hoof! Her powerlessness caused the suffering of thousands of ponies!"

Princess Celestia looked downward, feeling rather guilty not being able to stop her sister a thousand years ago from transforming into Nightmare Moon. Then the ride became much softer as gentle, happy music started to play. They passed over a cardboard cutout of ponies as clowns playing games and eating junk food. The Lord of Chaos hovered over them as the voice continued its narration. "That was until Discord came and saved us! He took us into his claws and made a fun paradise for all of us ponies, and better yet, he saw that I had magical talent. He then set up his school of "Chaos Magic," taking unicorns; he saw potential and taught them the ways of Chaos Magic."

Another cut-out appeared, this one showing a very happy adult Twilight standing before Discord with a large star on her chest.

"I ended up becoming Discord's top student, and he was so impressed he made me his second in command. I knew Celestia was wrong."

Then they came to the final part, where Celestia and Luna were performing with crowds of ponies throwing things at them; the image brought so many bad memories to Celestia that she had to turn her head away and throw her hooves over her eyes as the voice continued.

"Seeing Discord having the former princesses be ridiculed and mocked is the best thing he's ever done. How foolish were we to have revered them as our leaders? They don't deserve the title princesses; they're nothing but clowns! That's how they should be for the rest of eternity!"

Then the ride ended as they appeared outside, and Celestia got up with the skunk on her back. The former princess was somewhat shaken by what she saw and how much pain she put the ponies of Equestria through; despite Twilight's vitriol, she was right.

Celestia had long berated herself for not being more proactive in finding those who could wield the Elements and help protect Equestria. She tried with Sunset Shimmer and others, but none of them possessed the ability to discover friendship, something she herself seemed to lack if what Twilight said was true.

The alicorn burst into tears, collapsing on the ground as all the compounding pain overcame her; the former princess felt like a complete failure who deserved all the torment she'd endured for all those years.

She would've continued to wallow in her mystery had Zecora scuttled over there and whispered into her ear." Celestia, please do not be blue; what Twilight said is not true."

The skunk's words managed to get Celestia to raise her tear-stained face to meet her companion's eyes. You may have mistakes as we all do, as I met another Twilight who adores you."

The princess blinked as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "There's another Twilight?"

The skunk scratched its head, "It does sound too odd to be true; it'll be much easier to show you."

However, as Zecora looked ready to point Celestia in the right direction, a group of guards appeared, forcing the pony princess to pick the skunk and flee. Yet she felt a renewed sense of hope start to burn inside.

"Hopefully, I can find this other Twilight, and maybe, we can rectify my mistakes."

Chapter Eight: A House made of Plastic

It was early in the morning, with the sun's rays just starting to shine through the stained glass windows of Trixie's grand hall. The former magician-turned-alicorn was sitting atop her throne, drowning her anger with a bottle of wine. She didn't even bother getting a glass, chugging it down recklessly.

While it was hardly a dignified look, she didn't care; it wasn't like she had many subjects to judge her.

Trixie's grand castle was empty, most of her soldiers and servants having abandoned her during the escape by seemingly another Twilight Sparkle and the former princesses. Their success had emboldened others to flee, and with virtually no true loyalty from her subjects, she hadn't the horsepower to bring them back.

In less than a day, Trixie was utterly alone and forced to care for herself, which proved a lost cause, being unable to cook for herself or even keep her home clean. Thus, she'd settled for cleaning out her wine cellar, though only after being forced to contact her hated rival for help with the current situation.

The very thought of allying with her oldest rival only caused her to angrily drink even further, growling despite the burning alcohol in her throat. This quickly halted when the bottle's contents were drained, prompting her to toss the empty bottle against the wall and levitate over a new one.

She was just in the process of uncorking it when hoovesteps caused her gaze to shift to the entrance of her hall. Even in an inebriated state, she could make out a familiar purple shape, which caused her eyes to narrow.

"Good Morning, Trixie." Twilight greeted formally while taking her top hat off.

"Twilight, I was beginning to worry you wouldn't make it! And it's Princess Trixie," Trixie snapped as she sat up on her throne, putting the wine bottle beside her chair.

At the mention of her title, Twilight merely chuckled. "Oh yes, please forgive my manners Princess."

Trixie's anger rose, causing the bottle she was trying to open to crack, though she paid it little mind.

Twilight teleported towards her and then replied with a smirk. "So, I heard you had the former princesses right in your hooves and let them escape."

"Yes, no thanks to your brother. Not only did he stab me in the back, but he also took most of my soldiers with him!" Tririxe shouted, pointing her horn at her. "Perhaps I should be torturing your parents; they probably helped him with his coup."

Surprisingly, despite the threat against her family, Twilight didn't react, barely looking bothered by the idea.

"While I'm sure that would likely prove useful, I can't allow you to lay a hoof on either of them," Twilight replied with a sigh with a bored expression on her face as she looked around the empty room and then asked, "So, outside of mulling over your own failure, why did you call me here?"

Still glaring at her enemy, Trixie tossed the still-floating bottle behind her as she approached. "Because we need to talk about our next plan of action and discuss the elephant in the room."

"And that will be?"

"Discord hasn't been seen in over a month."

"And?"

The casual indifference in Twilight's tone caused Trixie's blood to boil as she got right into her rival's face. "Aren't you supposed to be smart!? We both know Discord, and we've seen how bored he's been getting lately. Obviously, he doesn't care what happens to Equestria and has gone to entertain himself somewhere else."

That did seem to merit a slight reaction from Twilight, a single raise of the eyebrow in little interest.

"The thought had crossed my mind. But what exactly are you proposing?"

Trixie, levitating another bottle and uncorking it, poured her a glass of wine and levitated it to her. "It's simple: we betray Discord and split Equestria."

Twilight blinked before almost immediately snapping. "Are you crazy? And what do we do if Disord returns? We can't possibly hope to stop him."

Trixie surprisingly remained calm, taking a sip from the bottle. "If Discord returns, you'll cling to him like a security blanket, and he'll pass the whole thing off as a bad joke; he probably doesn't even remember I exist."

Taking another moment to take another long swing from the bottle, she continued. "Let's be completely honest; Discord doesn't care about us or this kingdom; we're just toys for his amusement. He only keeps us around because we suck up to him. We're so beneath his notice he likely won't even care if he does return, assuming he's not busy tormenting the thousands of other creatures on this poor, doomed continent."

Twilight looked to argue, mulled over what Trixie had said, and took her sip from her glass. "That's a pretty logical look at things; I'm impressed. But let's say we betray him and take over Equestria. What exactly do we do then?"

"We fix Equestria, of course?! I'm not saying we make it how it was before. I have my tastes, after all, as do you. But with our prowess in Chaos Magic, you could finally get rid of that ridiculous circus and turn Canterlott into whatever you want. Then we go on to every other part of Equestria and fix things or improve whatever Discord's magic changed."

Overall, it sounded like an enticing plan, reasonably well thought out, and theoretically, it could work.

Yet, rather than consider it or even hint at consideration, Twilight laughed with a twisted smile. "Sorry to disappoint you, Trixie, but I'm one step ahead of you."

She whistled, and two massive dragons strolled into the grand hall, covered in black scales with white underbellies, and strangely were wearing bow ties. With a smirk, they both came right up behind Twilight.

"I've been dabbling with my powers over the years, secretly turning ponies into all kinds of magical creatures. I knew one-day Discord would also abandon Equestria, and I have been preparing an army to take full control of the kingdom. Sorry for keeping that act up for so long."

Upon hearing what Twilight said, Trixie gulped and started to feel sweat coming down her brow. "I see…"

The mare yawned as she poured the remaining wine onto the rug. "So, since we're clear on the power dynamic before I leave, I'm assuming you had one more proposal to make?"

"Yes," Trixie squeaked as she tried to regain some modicum of goodwill with her rival. "We need to take down the rebels hiding in the Everfree Forest."

That at least piqued Twilight's interest. "I heard those rumors, so that's where my brother and the other traitors are hiding?"

"Yes, along with, I assume, anypony that Discord's Chaos Magic hasn't influenced. It's also a safe bet that's where the missing princesses are hiding." Trixie, still eying the dragons wearily. "However, to ensure they never threaten our rule, we must ensure their capture. Once we start dismantling Discord's magic, they will try to assert dominance."

"I'm already on it; we'll have them before the week is through." With a quick flash of magic, the mare then produced a more elaborate-looking bottle of wine, which she happily poured for herself. "Let's toast then; we work together to restore Equestria and capture the princesses. After we take down these rebels, we can discuss how we'll cut up our dominion."

"I'm glad you agree," Trixie muttered with a false smile while internally seething at being outplayed again. The pair tapped their glasses and drank before Twilight turned and headed for the exit, massive dragons lumbering behind her, causing the entire castle to shake as they left.

When they were gone, Trixie, with a distraught look, collapsed onto her throne, slammed a hoof over her face, and whispered to herself, "I need to build an army fast! If I can't, Twilight will destroy me for sure!"

Meanwhile, the princesses and their Twilight traveled across the Everfree Forest, doing their best to avoid anything especially unwelcoming or potentially hostile, particularly the ponds with the transformation water.

Miraculously, they made it out of the forest without any hiccups compared to before and finally reached the edge of the woods. However, there, they came to a train station that looked much like one built for a toy with a road made of plastic and a full-sized toy train awaiting a toy stallion with a uniform.

Much like the station, train, and tracks, the stallion looked just as plastic as the rest, with a rather creepy painted-on smile. The group jumped in fright when he lifted one of his arms rather suddenly, and a robotic-sounding voice came out of him.

"If you're heading to The Big Toy Box, please get on board."

The three mares were more than a little suspicious of the train; it was more Chaos Magic. Regardless, they took the bull by the horns, slowly trotted onto the train, and sat across from each other in cramped, plastic seats.

"Well, barring anything else happening, this train should take us to Manehatten," Twilight stated as she tried to adjust her position to gain some level of comfort.

"Ok, but what should we expect to find there?" Luna felt even more on edge, not helped by her larger body, leaving her with less room to move.

Before any answer was given, the train started to move and chug, though with considerably less noise due to its lighter and less metallic frame. It certainly made Twilight's following sentence easier to hear.

"The entire city looks like a massive foal's toy room, and most ponies there have been turned into life-sized but otherwise harmless dolls. But the plan we need to follow is us finding Applejack."

While that earned a round of nods from those present, Celestia couldn't help but look a little embarrassed. "And, I'm sorry, Twilight, who is Applejack again?

"She's an orange-coated earth pony. In my world, she was an apple farmer in Ponyville. She typically had a more rustic attitude, but in this timeline, she acts more like Rarity."

The two blinked, "You mean like a maid?"

"No, my Rarity, she used to be a fashionista and a drama queen but…you know, a bit stuck up and sort of snobbish."

"Oh, so, like your average citizen of Canterlot?" Luna answered, a lightbulb seemingly appearing over her head. Celestia looked a little less than amused.

"Now, sister, I agree Canterlot's citizens could use a lesson or two in humility, but they aren't all that bad."

"Anyway." Twilight raised her voice slightly to get things back in focus. "I took that transformation water from the Everfree Forest due to a crucial detail. You see, Applejack regularly holds a tea party every day but only invites dolls…the idea is you can temporarily reassume the forms you took in the forest to hopefully get an invite, then convince her to come with us."

It was a sketchy plan. Still, the alicorns nodded in agreement as the train continued, the pair quickly catching sight of the city or the toy replica version it had become. The buildings were now massive stacks of wooden blocks on top of each other; the streets from afar seemed to have this plastic sheen with everything made of plastic. The Statue of Harmony herself, holding the torch over her head, was now a giant toy made of plastic bricks of some sort, which was now surrounded by the water, which now had white suds bubbling over the surface and smelled quite nice. A quick glance at some large rubber ducks floating in the water made it clear it was supposed to be bath water.

Chaos Magic really was as random as one could expect.

They eventually made it to the station, where, as they got off, only to were quickly surrounded, in a sense, by various ponies, now transformed into dolls. Curiously enough, all of them were engaged in some form of play. They were either kicking balls down the street, some playing hopscotch, or jumping rope. Despite their odd world, the ponies all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"Sister, I'm very disturbed by this. I'm sure I once entered a nightmare like this." Luna shivered slightly at the many painted faces of the various dolls, with Celestia offering a calming pat with her wing.

"Before we continue…we need you two to put on your disguises," Twilight spoke up, levitating over two bottles of water.

The two alicorns gave annoyed sighs as they drank some of the enchanted water, and soon, their wings and horns disappeared. Rapidly, their manes and tails started to change, now tied up to resemble an older hairstyle, with their tails being knotted and the duo now clad in magical gowns. Celestia's clown suit became a bright yellow dress, while Luna had a gorgeous violet gown appear over her.

Twilight quickly joined them, downing some of the enchanted water herself, and the two others watched as her wings and horns disappeared; a beautiful blue dress appeared with frills at the edge of the skirt, and a tiara was plopped on her head.

"Hmm, somepony is a little more comfortable with this transformation than us." Luna eyed Twilight, who flinched a little under her gaze.

"Well, I disguised myself to get in here a couple of times in the past. It helped that everypony just assumed I was the evil version of me and never looked much into it."

Celestia quickly nudged her sister to cease with the question whilst eyeing the large toybox city before them. "Twilight, given your time in this city, is there anything important you feel we should know before we enter?"

"Mostly, we should keep your identities a secret. Even with how crazy everything is, we can't afford to trust anypony right now. Anyone of them could easily try to sell us out to Discord or my evil doppelganger."

"Right, we can think up some names," Celestia chirped. She then nuzzled her sister, who looked more annoyed. "Hopefully, this is the last time we have to turn into fairy tale princesses."

The three mares slowly trotted through the city, Celestia and Luna finding themselves gawking at the massive dollhouse-style buildings and various ponies in equally loud and brightly colored dresses. Eventually, they approached a particularly large building with a red roof, yellow walls, and a large apple on its face. At the front, two large doll ponies awaited them.

Hesitantly, Celestia stepped forward. "Hello, is this where Applejack is hosting her tea party?"

One of the doll's heads turned with a crack towards her. "Yes, and who are you two?"

The two both gave each other unsure glances before introducing themselves.

Celestia bowed and said, "I am Princess Sunny Sky! Or Princess Sunny, if you prefer!"

"Oh, that's a very pretty name." The doll spoke eerie, chipperly before turning its head to Luna. "And what's your name, little pony?"

The former princess of the night sighed. "I'm her sister, Princess Night Sky."

"Night Sky and Sunny Sky, what delightfully sweet-sounding names! I'll go to see if Applejack has room for two more guests!" The Doll turned about to enter, only for its head to turn 180 degrees around to look at Twilight. "And what about your friend?"

The two turned to Twilight, who gave a pre-rehearsed laugh. "Oh, I'm Princess Sparkle, and I sadly have a previous engagement. That is…. I'm due for a dress-up party with my friend Bon Bon."

"Oh, well, that's a shame that you have to miss the party." The doll shrugged and then trotted into the mansion. Celestia felt herself breathing with relief before eying Twilight. "Are you sure about this? Wouldn't it be better to have you with us inside?"

"I should stay outside and keep guard if anything happens; just let me know when you contact Applejack and find a way to be alone with her. Hopefully, you and Luna can get her to come with us."

Listening in on the conversation, Princess Luna whispered, "We're taking quite a gamble here, Twilight. Are you so certain we can pull this off?"

"We don't have much of a choice…like I said, I'm not entirely sure if this Applejack will cooperate, so keep your cards close to your chest until you think it's alright to reveal who you really are to her."

The two princesses agreed silently, and then the doll returned from within the mansion. "Princess Sunny Sky and Night Sky, please come inside; your invitation to Applejack's tea party has been granted."

The two mares slowly trotted through the doll house's front entrance into the Applejack mansion.

The former princesses were quietly escorted through the mansion, which was, fittingly enough, decorated like a doll house with bright orange wallpaper, little pink apples, and a bright yellow rug leading throughout the dollhouse. Cute plastic furniture decorated the place, with various pictures of an orange-coated earth pony wearing various dresses and posing.

Eventually, they were led to a massive room where other dolls, like stallions and mares, all wearing gaudy outfits, were sitting around a giant circular table covered in an orange tablecloth with red apples printed on it, covered with dozens of empty cups and plates. The entire scene was somewhat awkward as the dolls were all drinking from them as if they had liquid inside. Some dolls didn't have mouths and silently nodded along to various conversations.

At the back of the table was Applejack, an orange-coated mare with a blonde mane, but her body was like the guards, being glass-like and shiny. Her body was clad in a frilly yellow dress, and a sun hat with a massive green emerald shaped like an apple sat around her neck.

To the princesses, the scene was a mixture of horrifying and somewhat embarrassing, as both knew all too well what they would have to do.

The tension quickly rose as Applejack's eyes finally met their own. "So we have two newcomers? Welcome to my tea party. Please introduce yourselves."

The two sisters gulped as they secretly wondered who would say something first, only for Luna not so subtly to push her sister forward. "Hello, I am Princess Sunny Sky."

Her sister followed suit, rising up and bowed. "And I am Princess Night Sky."

Everypony at the table flashed them smiles and whispered underneath their breaths, and Applejack gasped, "Princesses! Oh my! I had no idea I would be having royalty today!?"

She then clapped her hooves as two porcelain dolls came up behind them and poured the two cups of actual tea. Applejack lifted her cup and exclaimed, "Let's give our new guests a toast!"

They all held their plastic tea cups and placed them to their lips. Despite their own trepidation, Celestia and Luna did as well; despite the embarrassing nature of the scene being a tea party with a bunch of sentient dolls, it was as if they stumbled into a little filly's dream.

Then again, it was still a lot better than how they were treated back in Canterlot.

With the opening setting, Applejack settled into her chair with her many subjects following suit, Celestiand Luna included. "Now I have to ask, what brings you to my tea party?"

Celestia was uncertain about what to say, knowing this was a bit of a minefield to enter. Still, seeing that they had to pretend their mindless ponies, she flashed a practiced smile and said, "Oh, we just wish to see you, Applejack; we heard so much about your famous tea parties that my sister and I had to come to see them!"

"Yes, we traveled all the way from Trixieville to join this tea party," Luna added, trying to keep her eyes away from the many blank faces staring at them.

Many ponies gasped around the table as Applejack eyed them. "I see, Trixieville, you say?"

Celestia slightly nodded, then said, "Yes, we are from Trixieville…we escaped as we heard how much better Manehattan was."

Applejack's expression didn't change, though Celestia could sense some kind of change in her demeanor. "Well, that's rather flattering of you to say… however, I am afraid you will have to leave. You see, The Big Toy Box doesn't have any food, and you would starve if you stayed here."

Both Princesses quickly eyed each other, mentally trying to devise a way to keep the conversation going.

Luna then turned to face Applejack and gulped, "Yes, we knew that; in fact, we also came to ask if…we can become dolls ourselves?"

Celestia's eyes widened, surprised by Luna's response, while the plastic farm mare smirked. "Well, I didn't think you would ask."

Princess Celestia then felt her body stiff, as did Luna's, as they seemed unable to move as their flesh started to look plastic and gave off a sheen.

"Don't be scared; I promise it's totally painless, and once it's done, you won't have to worry about being hungry, getting old, or needing to go to the bathroom ever again. Isn't that just wonderful?"

All the dolls clapped in reverence towards Applejack as the two princesses quickly completed their second transformation of the day.

It wasn't long until the two sisters groaned, and they doubled over. Celestia felt her entire body turning from flesh into plastic, her mane and tail turning into fabric. She then looked over at Applejack, wanting nothing more than to send her flying for turning her into a plastic doll. But she regained her composure and, with a smile, replied, "Thank you, we look amazing."

"Of course, now that you're dolls, why don't we have a private discussion?" Applejack clapped her hooves as she rose, and every other doll did the same. Celestia and Luna rose up as well. "I apologize for cutting my tea party short, but there are some important matters I need to discuss with the newcomers. We will meet up tomorrow around the same time."

"Yes, Applejack!" many dolls exclaimed; they all clattered and clanged as they trotted off. Applejack smoothed out her dress and then turned her attention to the newly created dolls. "Now come along. I don't have all day."

The two mares followed Applejack, and Celestia squeaked, feeling the weight of her former body gone, leaving her stumbling due to the sudden lightness. Also, her movements were much stiffer, taking more effort to ensure she was balanced. Luna similarly struggled as they followed the mare through the mansion to her room.

It was as gaudy and plastic-like as the rest of the house. The only real difference was there was a massive canopy bed, and sitting above was a portrait of Applejack with a few other ponies, an elderly earth pony mare, a massive red-coated stallion who was holding an adorable little yellow-coated baby filly.

Once the doors shut, Applejack immediately faced them, her face managing to show a great deal of annoyance compared to before. "Alright, now start talking. Who exactly are you really? And don't bother lying further; I knew you were deceiving me the moment you entered."

Both sisters felt their hearts stop momentarily, not expecting to be found out so quickly. Still, it wasn't like they were in a position to do anything else at this point.

"Very well, my name is Celestia. And this is my younger sister Luna."

Applejack's eyes went wide, "I knew it, though I see you don't have your wings and horns. Likely some spell to get inside." She then regained her composure. "However, I have to ask why would you come here? Is it just so you can stay in Manehattan and play as dolls?"

The former princess of the sun shook her head. She hoped deep down Twilight's trust in Applejack would pay off. "We want you to come with us, and we need you to help us defeatDiscord."

Applejack's eyes again widened before she burst out in uproarious laughter. "Oh, me taking down Discord!? I don't think you've been paying attention; I'm a literal doll at this point. Part of the reason I never leave is because I'd crack under the slightest pressure."

Luna opted to switch in for her sister. "I understand, but we found a special water that can reverse the curses of the Chaos Magic here. We can turn you back to normal ponies."

Applejack held up a hoof and said, "Hold on now, why would I want that? I have everything I want and more! I was the Diva of Manehattan, and even now, I have more power and influence than ever! Why would I ever want to give that up?"

"Are you serious!? You're a bunch of toys playing tea party; don't you want your normal lives back!?" Luna shouted, stomping her hoof or attempting to with her limited mobility. "If we take down Discord, we can change things to how they were! Return Equestria to the peaceful land it once was."

The porcelain doll crossed the room and said, "You're assuming that everypony was happy with their lives before everything changed. But you two are even more stupid for coming here than I realized."

The two alicorns paused as they tried to move, but Luna gasped as she felt her body seeming unable to move. Celestia herself tried to get near her sister, only to find herself just as immobile. The princess gritted her teeth and tried to say something, but her face started to feel stiff, and her lips pressed together.

"That tea I gave you before was created from the waters of the river you crossed over. It can turn ponies into dolls, but I'm afraid it also makes you motionless. Pity."

The doors to the room opened, and two porcelain dolls brought in two massive boxes. The two were picked up and forced into a standup position as twist ties went around their limbs and strapped them, then a plastic see-through cover was placed over them.

Applejack then strode over them with a smile, "Good, now you two just stay put. I need to make a call."

As she walked away, Applejack couldn't help but feel a bit awful; she didn't want to harm the former princesses of Equestria; in fact, she was pretty happy they came to see her. But the truth is things have changed, and she had to do whatever it took to keep Manehattan from Discord and his minions.

Strengthened her resolve, she trotted across her room towards a glowing orb, tapping it and watching it glow with the image of Trixie appearing. The usually prideful alicorn was currently in the midst of downing another bottle of wine while lying flat across her bed.

Applejack almost looked at the mare with a hint of disgust and pity before tapping it again. "Uh, Trixie?"

The mare cried in shock, practically gagging on the wine she'd been drinking before finally noticing her viewer, "Oh, Applejack didn't expect to see you."

"Yes, well…uh, just wanted to let you know I have the former princesses with me."

Immediately, the mare's eyes lit up, and she excitedly squealed. "Excellent! Now things are heating up as Twilight, and I just made a pact."

Applejack's eyes went wide. "Wait, you and Twilight made peace!? What about Discord!?"

"What about him? We all know he hasn't been around for a month! Besides, we have the best claim and the power to take over. But I can't trust Twilight. She'll probably backstab me the first chance she gets."

Applejack regretted calling the former magician, simply wanting to resolve this and keep her head down. Now, it seemed she'd stumbled into a coup.

"So, uh, what are you going to be doing in the meantime?"

Trixie sighed, coming down off her prior high. "I…I actually need you to sit tight. First, I need to recruit ponies from here and Manehattan to create an army."

"An army!? You promised that Manehattan would remain neutral as long as we don't align with Twilight!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to break that promise." Despite appearances, Trixie did seem genuine in her regret. "Twilight is creating an army herself. I fear she'll crush me if I don't make my own."

Applejack paused, then asked, "You promised you'll turn me back to a pony when you arrive."

"Of course,"

"And my family? Are they ok?"

"They'll be safe."

"Does that include Big Macintosh? I heard he left with Shining Armor."

Trixie sighed annoyedly, "Yes, even Big Macintosh; even though he betrayed me, we still have a deal, and unlike Twilight, I always honor my agreements."

Applejack glared at Trixie, then snapped, "You better make good on that deal; if I hear that you did anything to my family, I-"

"You'll do what!? Remember that I still possess Chaos Magic while you're just an easily breakable doll. You'd do well to remember that dear Applejack."

Applejack paused; knowing her place and position, she grumbled, "Fine."

"You better keep the former princesses secure; if I hear you let them escape, I can't promise your family's safety."

Applejack slammed the ball back onto the plastic table and angrily cried out. She was seething, knowing Trixie was strong-arming her, and worse, she didn't know if Big Mac or anypony from her old farm was safe.

The mare looked out with the sun setting over the toy city and wondered if she was making the right decision. The mare collapsed onto her bed, which was also made of plastic, and just lay there missing, being able to feel or sense the world around her; outside of sight and sound, she couldn't smell, taste, or touch anything.

Despite her grandstanding and attitude, the mare just wanted to return to normal and, if it indeed were possible, would've happily accepted the former princess's offer. Yet, that was not to be; thus, she would play Trixie's game for now.

Later that evening, Twilight was trotting back and forth outside the mansion as the moon rose. She knew that the princesses should have come back by now. Granted, she'd contemplated the possibility of things going wrong. Still, given Applejack's more haughty attitude, she assumed the worst would be her kicking them out ...unless she was working with evil Twilight or Trixie.

She quickly slammed a hoof to her face. "How can I be so stupid!? I just got the princesses captured!"

Now, with few options, she, using her magic to levitate, snuck into the mansion through one of the open windows and carefully trotted through the estate; to her surprise, the place was primarily empty outside of the gaudy furniture.

Walking further inward, Twilight eventually came to Applejack's room and found the princesses in the boxes of all things. She used magic to open the plastic see-through openings and remove the twisted ties around their bodies without missing a beat. Quickly, she pulled out the enchanted water and sprinkled it on top of them both, and then slowly, the two transformed back to their flesh and blood bodies once more, the pair looking positively relieved.

Luna rubbed her red rubber nose with a hoof and grumbled, "Thank you, Twilight; I apologize this plan didn't work out as well as I hoped."

Twilight shook her head as she was ashamed and said, "No, this is my fault. I should've expected that Applejack was working with Trixie or Evil Twilight. So who was she working for?"

"Trixie." The two sisters grumbled in unison.

Luna turned to Twilight, "I'm sorry about your friend, but I believe it might be best to leave and cut our losses."

"No, we can't leave; look, this Applejack isn't the one I knew, but deep down, I know we can convince her to help us. We have to try something."

"But how can we convince her? Whatever leverage Trixie has against Applejack was clearly enough to sway her. She'll never agree unless we somehow figure out what it is and deal with it. We should get out of her before we alert her guards."

Twilight looked utterly downtrodden at the idea but agreed nonetheless. "I guess you're right, but how can we get out of here?"

Celestia turned to the packaging they were trapped in a few minutes ago and smirked, "I have an idea."

The following day, Applejack found herself tied up in a box; upon realizing she was strapped in a box, she kicked and cried, but her glass-like body made it difficult to really do anything to escape. She then spotted the two clown princesses who were smiling at her as Trixie had before

"Release me at once!"

Princess Celestia hopped over and said, "Not until you answer some questions."

"Fine! Ask away, but I'm not telling you anything."

The shift in personality was quite drastic. It reminded The princess of how Fluttershy and Rarity acted, seeing their lives were horrible even before everything went to hell. Applejack's life must not be as glamorous as she was letting on.

"How about we learn about you first? Tell me what happened in your former life?" Celestia's tone shifted, becoming more soft and compassionate, akin to how she'd addressed her subjects before Discord's reign.

Applejack futilely struggled again for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Well, I used to live in Ponyville, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay on my family's farm for the rest of my life. So I moved to Manehattan and stayed with my aunt and uncle. Now, I had to admit I wasn't thrilled with my life and, at one point, looking for a sign to see if I should stay. That sign never came, so I stayed and lived my life here. I went to parties and learned to be sophisticated, talking to Equestria's rich and powerful ponies. Still, no matter what I did, I never received my cutie mark and remained nothing more than a rich bachelorette. Then this Chaos Magic changed everything, turning me into this porcelain doll and my mansion a doll house. And now, thanks to that, everypony wants to come and attend my tea parties; I'm the most popular pony in Manehattan. It ain't perfect, but it's not terrible either."

Luna, however, needed to look more convinced. "Because it sounds like you were never happy and clinging to a false version of yourself? If you had a chance to return to your farm in time, would you?"

Applejack looked down and growled, "Maybe…"

Celestia sighed, "My sister and I have a fairly good idea of what's happening. Trixie, she's holding your family hostage, isn't she?"

"Yeah, and if you don't stay here, she will turn them into slaves!" Applejack screamed, almost lurching forward in desperation. "If you cared about me, you'd release me and remain here without any issue."

Both Celestia and Luna looked at the desperate plea with sympathy. "I apologize, but she cannot capture us. If we do, I fear we'll be used as hostages to keep the citizens of Equestria from rebelling while she continues to control them. She may even turn us over to Twilight to be tortured."

Luna shivered at the thought and whispered, "I would rather die than go back to that."

Their answer caused the porcelain Applejack to shake, her face seemingly shifting as she cried. "Don't you two get it! If I don't turn you over, that'll happen to me and my family too! How can yah expect me to choose between mah Family and Ya'lll?"

Applejack blinked momentarily and blushed, releasing in her distress that she'd briefly fallen back into her original accent.

There was a long, somber pause as the three thought over what to say next. Luna then looked up and asked, "Have you ever wondered why you never received your cutie mark?"

"No, and I don't see how that's relevant?"

Celestia looked up, catching onto what her sister said, then continued. "Applejack, listen, Discord has somehow distorted our world's timeline, maybe even altered how things should have been for you. That's why your life has been nothing but misery, and your cutie mark never appeared. This is our chance to change things and save our world. If you help us defeat Discord, I promise we will ensure your family is safe forever."

"How do you expect us to defeat Discord?! How do we even match his power!?"

Luna smirked. "That's funny you should ask, but I think you might be one who can help us defeat him."

"Me How!? Before, I was just a snobbish Earth Pony, and now I'm just a porcelain doll! What could I possibly do!?"

Celestia eyed a door nearby and used her magic to pull it open, revealing Twilight to Applejack, whose painted eyes widened.

"Don't be alarmed, Applejack. This isn't the Twilight you're familiar with; rather, she's a Twilight from an alternate timeline, one she says is free of tyranny and where everypony, you included, lives in peace."

"Sounds like a load of horse crap to me!" Her harsh tone and language caused Twilight to wince while Luna opted to keep talking. "Even I was skeptical, but she and this Starlight Glimmer she came with seem to be telling the truth; something went wrong, and our timeline has been altered. And it seems you're one of the six who can wield the Elements of Harmony and restore Equestria to how it was."

"Besides, you can't trust this, Trixie," Celestia spoke, eyes narrowing at the mention of the magician. "She's desperate to cling to her power, and with Discord seeming to have abandoned Equestria, Evil Twilight is likely taking steps to usurp Trixie and will likely not think twice about harming you or your family."

Applejack was still hesitant, but she looked up, "Ok, you two made valid points…before we continue, can you untie me? I promise I won't run."

They did as she asked and took her out of the box as Applejack continued, "Listen, there's another reason why I decided to work for Trixie: she promised us to keep Manehattan neutral. We may be toys, but it's much better than what I heard the poor folks living in Canterlot are dealing with, not to mention the rest of Equestria."

Celestia and Luna both couldn't help but agree with her silently with slight nods.

Applejack looked down and growled, "You two made your proposition, but I want to put your word where your mouth is. Can you really change us back to normal?"

"I thought you would never ask," Twilight then came forward, and Applejack glared at her, taking a step back. "I still don't trust you; for all I know, you're just the same old spiteful Twilight as always."?"

"No wa-"

Before Celestia could say anything, Twilight took a spray bottle and gave her a few squirts. They watched as her glass-like body turned into warm flesh, growing heavier and dense, and she started to breathe and felt the air in her lungs; she could feel the plastic beneath her hooves.

"Oh, my Faust!? It worked! You turned me back into a pony again!"

"Yes, and like they said, I'm a different Twilight from another timeline, and we need you to come with us."

Applejack blinked, being somewhat surprised, but shrugged. "Alright, seeing you're not trying to torture Celestia or shatter me for working for Trixie, I'm assuming you're telling the truth."

She turned to the two princesses, "Now, I can't leave just yet; if Trixie finds out, there's no telling what she'll do. I need to trick her into thinking I still have you captured…I can't leave until she's defeated to ensure the safety of Manehattan and my family."

"Sadly, I'm afraid we don't have the numbers to defeat Trixie as we are," Celestia muttered, annoyed at yet another roadblock.

"Well, how much of that disenchantment water do you have?"

Twilight raised the flask and said, "It doesn't seem like a lot, but it seems always to refill so that it could be infinite.

Applejack trotted back and forth, then she sighed, "OK, well, I have a plan to save the ponies of Manehattan and stop Trixie…but I'm gonna need the pegasi from Cloudesdale."

Twilight replied, "Wait!? But how will we get to them!? And what is your plan!"

Applejack turned to Twilight. "Come now, ain't it obvious? That water you have seems to negate the effects of Chaos Magic. If we can get that water on Trixie, she'll turn back into a showboating, mostly powerless unicorn. But the problem is she's going to have her defenses up. So we'll need the pegasi of Cloudesdale to rain that water down on Manehattan, along with Ponyville, just to be safe. Heck, you might even be able to use that to defeat Evil Twilight as well. But you need to go now; Trixie's gonna be here any minute."

The trio looked ready to panic, with Luna already looking for the window Twilight used to enter with Celestia following, while Twilight stayed behind for a minute to speak with her friend.

"We can't just leave you here; the second she sees you aren't a doll anymore, she'll know something is up."

Applejack, showing a bit of her former stubborn pride, stomped up to Twilight and started pushing her in the direction of the princesses. "Let me worry about that; if you and the princesses get caught, we're all done for."

Twilight planted her hooves firmly and used her magic to pull Applejack back. "I can't just abandon you like this. I'll stay with you to help keep Trixie distracted. With any luck, I can convince her I'm the Evil Twilight to help explain why you're not a doll anymore."

As she mentioned her plan, Celestia entered again, only to find the flask floating in front of her face, with Twilight looking at her.

"I have no idea what to expect in Cloudesdale, but from now on, you two will focus on getting the pegasi to rain this water on everything, then find Rainbow Dash. We'll stall Trixie."

Celestia looked ready to protest but knew there was little time to do so and relented. "Alright, Twilight, this might be the only plan we have. We'll return here once we get the pegasi to rain this disenchanting water on Equestria."

Luna popped in after her sister, nodding in agreement. "I…I do not completely agree with leaving you two to deal with Trixie, but seeing her arrogance, I doubt you'll have little trouble stalling her."

The three hugged each other one last time, and then the two sisters unfurled their wings and flew out the window; the two were now flying over the city of toys with the sun just breaking over them. Celestia looked back and, with a sad smile, said, "This is it; no more time to waste."

"Yes, it seems so, but the next time we return, this city will be like it was before Discord's Chaos Magic changed it."

"I hope that is the case, sister; I hope once we leave Cloudesdale, most of Equestria will be like how it was…"