Chapter 17: Princess Cadance and Shining Armor

In the Crystal Empire Castle, Princess Cadance was sitting in the throne room as she finished up her morning Royal routine. Princess Cadance sighed in relief.

Just then, two Crystal Royal Guards came in, one had a purple coat, and the other had a yellow coat. Princess Cadance raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it?"

"Princess Cadance, it would seem that Aaron Blazer and his friends have arrived here," the purple guard said. "And they arrived with some guests."

"Send them in," Princess Cadance said. The two guards nodded and got out of the way so Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky could come in. The New Mane 6 and Sparky were astonished by what the place looked like on the inside.

"This place is... amazing!" Sunny said.

"So spectacular!" Pipp said. She then tried pulling out her phone. "I've got to..." She then remembered. "Oh, right. No cell phones in Equestria yet."

"Aaron Blazer and friends," Princess Cadance said. "Welcome. Although, I wasn't expecting you all to come here."

"It wasn't our first intention, Cadance," Aaron said. "Let's just say there have been some... complications... to our arrival."

"What do you mean?" Princess Cadance asked.

Aaron and the Young 6 turned to the New Mane 6 and Sparky. Aaron then said, "Cadance, meet Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, Misty and Sparky. They all came from the future."

"The future?" Princess Cadance asked. "How far?"

"About... 200 years," Sunny said. "Give or take."

"200 years?" Princess Cadance asked. "How did...?"

"Future Twilight helped us with getting the portal back to this time," Ocellus said. "Along with somepony none of us were expecting. Who was originally from a fanfic about this world."

Princess Cadance's shocked face then softened and gave a smile. She then said, "So, you know about Nyx. I was wondering when that would happen."

"You were in on it, too?" Aaron asked.

"Twylie was planning on surprising you all about it," came Shining Armor's voice. The group all looked towards the right side of the room and they saw Shining Armor in his armor coming in. "I was hoping the next time you all came to visit Twylie, you'd all find out about Nyx. But it looks like you found out sooner than later."

"More like a lot later than sooner," Zipp whispered towards Misty, making her laugh quietly.

"Okay, now to get to important business," Aaron said. "Anyway, when we all came here, a Red Beast also came here from the future."

"We tried keeping it in-between the portal by closing it, but it was shot out of the portal and headed South," Misty said. "He'll be heading..."

"Right towards Twilight!" Cadance said. She then got out a quill and parchment and started writing. "Here we go. 'Twilight, apparently, a red monster is heading right towards you. We're sending help right to you. Cadance.'" Cadance then rolled up the scroll and sent it to Twilight. "That should do it."

"It'll be a matter of time until Twylie gets the message," Shining Armor said. He then noticed something on the flanks of the Young 6. "Wait a minute. Are those... Cutie Marks?"

"What?" Cadance asked.

"Yeah, magic is evolving," Smolder said. "When we got to the future, we changed forms into fitting of the proper time."

"Of course it didn't happen immediately," Ocellus said. "We all changed overnight."

"Ocellus and I were the first ones to notice," Aaron said.

"Seems that you all went through a lot," Shining Armor said. Just then, a scroll came in and landed in front of Cadance.

"Twilight replied," Cadance said. She then unrolled the scroll and read it. "Okay. She's setting up the guards to get into a defensive position. She'll be ready to use magic if that thing comes near her."

"No, that's a bad idea!" Sunny said.

"That thing absorbs magic," Misty said. "We need to get to her before it's too late."

"But how?" Cadance asked. "There's no way we can get to Canterlot. I haven't even mastered teleportation spells."

"Dang," Aaron said.

"You said 'Dang' this time, right?" came Dang's voice. Everyone there looked towards the voice and they saw Dang at the door. Then all of them screamed.

Aaron then smiled and said, "Dang, we need to get to Canterlot. Quickly. Think you can help?"

"No problem," Dang said.

"Hang on," Shining Armor said. "We can't leave Flurry Heart here all by herself." Just then, Flurry Heart teleported in, giggling. "Flurry."

"There's a baby Alicorn?!" Sunny asked.

"The first natural born Alicorn," Aaron said. He then faced Cadance. "This place does have those ultrasound machines, right?"

"That's right," Cadance said. "Although, we were all surprised when we saw Flurry on the Ultrasound Monitor. Including the doctor."

"Alright, Dang," Smolder said. "Take us to Canterlot."

"Already done," Dang said. Then they all looked around and saw that they were in Canterlot. That made everyone surprised that they made it to Canterlot so fast.

"How did we get here so fast?" Hitch asked.

"Wow," Sparky said.

"It's either super speed or teleportation," Aaron said.

"I think it could be both," Smolder said.

"Okay, well since I'm done, I'll head back home," Dang said. Just then, he just vanished.

Aaron then turned to face the castle. He then said, "Let's go." Then they all headed towards Canterlot Castle.

"Wow," Sunny said. "This place looks so much better than it did in our time."

"How'd it turn out in the future?" Shining Armor asked.

"Everything was in ruins," Pipp said. "And there was only one creature living there. And it was Discord."

"He's still alive in your time?" Cadance asked.

"He passed away before we got there," Sandbar said. Just then, the sound of a phone ringing came in. That made everyone stop.

"I thought cell phones weren't invented yet in Equestria," Zipp said, getting suspicious.

"That's mine," Aaron said. "It's tech from my world. And with the portal open now, my cell phone reception works." He pulled his phone out of his bag and used a stylus to answer his phone. "Hello?" He then waited for someone to reply. "Oh, hey, Aunt Marissa."

"So, how have you and your friends doing?" Marissa's voice came from the phone.

"Oh, it's been alright," Aaron said, trying to hide the fact that he and the Young 6 got sucked into the future. "Although, there have been some eventful things."

"Oh, really?" Marissa asked. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you when you and Liam get back," Aaron said. "We'll see you when you two get back. Bye." Aaron then hung up.

"Hey, why didn't you tell them about our adventure in the future?" Gallus asked.

"Last time I was gone for a few hours and came back the next morning, I didn't come back alone," Aaron said, pointing his left thumb at Smolder.

"I pulled you through the portal, and you were gone for at least a few seconds," Smolder said. She then looked towards the New Mane 6. "He bumped his head when the Treehouse of Harmony was being attacked by Ragnarok."

"Ohhh!" the New Mane 6 said in unison.

"Not to be an interrupter, but... the Beast," Sandbar said.

"Right," Aaron said. "Let's go." Then they all started running towards the castle.

In the throne room of Canterlot Castle, Twilight had every guard in the room, getting ready for an upcoming battle.

"Alright, guards," Twilight said. "We need to prepare for what's coming. A red beast is on its way here, and we need to be prepared for what it's got."

Just then, Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6, Sparky, Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart came in. Aaron then said, "Not everything."

"Aaron and friends?" Twilight asked. "How did you...?" She then noticed the New Mane 6 and Sparky. "Wait a minute. Aren't those..."

"Six ponies from the next generation show?" Aaron asked. "Bingo." He then pointed a thumb at Misty. "But don't worry about Misty. She defected to the good side."

"Oh," Twilight said. She then sighed. "Well, good for her." She then noticed the Cutie Marks on the Young 6. "Are those Cutie Marks?"

"Magic evolved in the future," Aaron said. "Such as non-pony intelligent creatures getting Cutie Marks and..." He then looked towards Hitch and nodded. Hitch nodded. He lifted his right foreleg, and his hoof started glowing green. Then he tapped the ground and a vine sprouted out of the floor. "...Chlorokinesis."

"Chlorokinesis?!" Twilight asked. "The manipulation, growth and shape of plants?! That's amazing!"

"I just started with calling it Floral Magic," Sunny said. "But I guess that makes much more sense."

"Well, we're gonna need all the magical help we can get if we're going to stop whatever that thing is," Twilight said. "Anything else we should know about the future?"

"Dragon fire has also evolved," Aaron said. "Since Spike is the first dragon to have magic, magic has also gotten into the fire of all other dragons in the future. For example..." Sparky then spat fire and it was heading towards a guard. The guard gasped at that and Sparky's fire hit the guard's helmet and it transformed into a baby bonnet, the same one that Spike wore when he and Twilight were hiding from the ponies of Ponyville when they found out Twilight had a second ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala.

All the guards around that one guard laughed at that guard for wearing a baby bonnet.

"Transformation fire!" Twilight said. "That's amazing!" She then used her magic to grab Sparky and inspect him closely. "Evolved dragon fire! I guess magic made it even more unpredictable in the future! But, I still don't know how it happened."

"I think I know," Aaron said. "That battle against Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis. When every across and beyond Equestria came together in harmony to help stop them."

"Which made magic start to evolve more than we knew," Twilight said. "Aaron, you are a genius! How did you learn so much this?! From the show?"

"No, I learned it during the semester I took at your School of Friendship," Aaron said.

"Ahh, right," Twilight said. "I forgot you were a transfer student."

"From another dimension," Aaron said. That made the Young 6 laugh.

"So, does that mean that you and Smolder have new abilities with your fire?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know about me, but Smolder, definitely," Aaron said. "In fact, she just discovered it when we first saw that beast before going through the portal."

"My fire can crystallize a creature in a purple crystal with a darker shade of purple fire," Smolder said. "It temporarily trapped the Red Beast."

"We need a name for that thing," Gallus said. "We can't just keep referring it as the Red Beast." Just then, Discord popped in.

"I see you all had a journey," Discord said.

"You know, I'm actually glad to see you around, Discord," Aaron said.

"You as well, Aaron Blazer," Discord said. "But, we got a problem." Just then, he snapped his fingers and a projection appeared above them. They all looked at the projection and saw the statue of Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis in it.

The statue of the three villains was at the city limits of Canterlot. Then something came up. It was the Red Beast. It snarled at it.

"I can sense the power you all have," the Red Beast said. "Or at least, reside of the power that once belonged to my master; Grogar. The power I stole for him. Much of that power from Alicorns in the past. How you all had it in the past, I want to know why. But not the time. From now on..." Then the Red Beast's eyes started glowing.

Then the statues started cracking. Then all three of the villains came out of there. All of them fell down to the ground. Then their heads got surrounded in red auras. Tirek held his hands to the sides of his head while Cozy and Chrysalis were holding their hooves to their heads, all of them feeling some intense energy going into their heads.

"...You all serve me and my master, Grogar," the Red Beast concluded. Then Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis opened their eyes, and their eyes were all the same as the Red Beast's. Then they all saluted the Red Beast.

"We live to serve, General Crunch!" Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis all said in unison.

"I'll be heading to the ruler of this world to take her magic and take back the Bewitching Bell," the Red Beast, now known as Crunch, said. "You take down any other threats that might want to try and stop me."

"Oh, we know just the creatures who might want to try and stop you," Cozy Glow said, rubbing her hooves together.

"Then go," Crunch said. He then looked towards the castle. "Magic belongs to Grogar." He then started walking towards the castle. Then Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis headed away from Canterlot.

Everyone in the Throne Room of Canterlot Castle all had their jaws dropped when they saw what happened on the projection that Discord brought up.

"That thing just freed the three biggest villains we know of G4!" Aaron said.

"That's not good," Smolder said. "We need to get to Ponyville and warn Twilight's friends of this."

"No," Aaron said. He looked towards the Young 6. "It's your destiny to stop the Red Beast, Crunch. I'll handle the villains."

"Not alone," Sunny said. "We'll help out. First, we need to get to Ponyville."

"I'll set up transportation," Twilight said.

"Or, you can just let Spike send us there by fire," Hitch said.

"Wait, what?" Spike asked. "No way. I can only send pieces of paper, not whole ponies."

"You're limiting yourself, Spike," Sunny said. "Sometimes, it's okay to stop."

Spike took a breath. He then nodded.

"Just be careful, all of you," Twilight said. "Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow are very dangerous."

"Cozy Glow's a manipulater, Chrysalis is a trickster, and Tirek is a powerhouse when he steals magic," Aaron said. "So the best way to stop them all is to divide and conquer."

Hitch then walked over towards Twilight and handed Sparky to her. He then said, "Watch him until we get back?"

"Of course," Twilight said. "I'll watch him. You can trust me." Sparky then jumped out of Twilight's foreleg. "Hey!" Sparky then ran over to Smolder, jumped into her arms, and nuzzled her. "Huh. Guess he's taking a liking to you."

"More than you think," Smolder said. "Apparently... he's mine and Aaron's son."

"What?!" Twilight asked.

"We haven't done it yet," Aaron said. "Time travel."

"Oh, right," Twilight said. "Okay, Spike. Send them to Ponyville."

"Got it," Spike said. He then walked up to Aaron and the New Mane 6. Spike then inhaled a big breath. Aaron gave a thumbs up to the Young 6 before Spike blew his Emerald flames at them and sent them to Ponyville.

"Good luck, Aaron," Smolder said.

In the Castle of Friendship Foyer, Emerald Flames appeared and coming out of them were Aaron and the New Mane 6. The group all looked around and the New Mane 6 were amazed by it.

"Whoa!" the New Mane 6 said.

"This place is amazing!" Sunny said.

"This is the Castle of Friendship," Aaron said. "Twilight's old castle before she became High Princess of Equestria."

"Why would she give up this to live in Canterlot?" Pipp asked. "It's amaaaaaaazing!" Pipp sang that last part.

"Don't worry," Aaron said, annoyed. "I have the number for the decorator."

"Really?" Pipp asked.

"I'm kidding," Aaron said. "This thing grew from a magical box that grew from the Tree of Harmony. The last time I saw one of those... was in Opaline's Castle."

"Seriously?!" Zipp asked.

"It's probably in the debris of what's left of the castle down below," Aaron said. "But let's not worry about that now. Right now, we have some villains to stop."

"Right," Sunny said. She then reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her heart-shaped locket. Aaron then went wide-eyed at it.

"Where did you get that?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, this?" Sunny asked. "Oh, a Breezie just gave it to me one day. It came in handy when I went hoof-to-hoof with Opaline. Then a rainbow beam came out of it and..."

"It wrapped around her and she was unable to do anything to get out of it?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah," Sunny said. "How did you know?"

"That locket dates back all the way to G1," Aaron said. "It defeated the Tirek of G1."

"It did?!" Sunny asked. She then smirked. "Looks like we have a backup plan in case our first plan doesn't go as we planned."

"Right," Aaron said. "For now, let's prepare for the battle." Then Aaron and the New Mane 6 headed out the doors. Aaron then put his left hand above his eyes to see if he could spot any of the G4 Mane 6. He then spotted Pinkie Pie. "Gotcha." He then put his hands to the sides of his snout, and cried out, "Yo, Pinkie Pie!" Just then, Pinkie Pie zoomed in, surprising the New Mane 6.

"Hey, Aaron!" Pinkie said. She then noticed the New Mane 6 and gasped. "Oh, boy! New ponies in town! I better get ready for...!"

"There's no time!" Aaron said. "Big trouble! Tirek, Cozy, Chrysalis, they're free and they're on their way here!"

Pinkie Pie gasped loudly and said, "Okie dokie loki! I'll gather our friends!" She then jumped up and defied gravity. "I'll have 'em back here by the next chapter! See ya!" She then zoomed away in the air.

The New Mane 6 were surprised by how Pinkie Pie was able to do all that. Sunny then asked, "How did she do that?"

"Pinkie Pie is the most unpredictable pony of all time and generations," Aaron said. "The laws of Physics don't really work around her. Now, let's come up with a plan to stop the villains." Then Aaron and the New Mane 6 huddled together.

Author's Note

VOTING TIME!!

Okay, looks like Aaron and the New Mane 6 are gonna be taking on the Legion of Doom in G4. Things are gonna get hairy. Aaron and the New Mane 6 might have trouble taking down their respective villains, especially since one of them is able to drain the magic out of them. But for this to work, they're gonna have to take them down one at a time. You all get to vote for one villain each, and the number of votes will be the order of who will get to be taken down in order; highest going first and lowest going last. Who will the heroes take on first?

Option 1:

Lord Tirek

Option 2:

Queen Chrysalis

Option 3:

Cozy Glow

See you all next time.