The Shadows of Everfree

Chapters

Chapter Four
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue

Chapter Four

Of course, Irradiance couldn’t imagine another adventure without the help of his fellow ponies in Canterlot.

After the short conversation with Dragon Lord Amber and Princess Twilight, Irradiance and Leviathan dismissed themselves to collect Marigold, Hibiscus, and Cobalt.

“At least now I’ll be able to visit!” Leviathan happily stated as he watched his partner prepare a few saddle bags, anxiously counting and recounting the amount of rations he was loading into each. The Changeling had tried to help but Irradiance was firm in his ways and any outside help was seen as hostile at this moment. Leviathan had learned to simply watch from afar, red eyes gleaming.

“Yeah,” Irradiance laughed drily, “Great circumstances to visit under. ‘Hey, guys! I’m back in town but uh oh! Irradiance is having all of the magic sucked out of him by the hour! How about we all go back into the Everfree Forest and face another enemy!’” The purple Unicorn groaned, attempting to pick up a few empty bottles and move them out of the way with magic before, once again, the purple magic fizzled out and one of the glasses shattered on the ground. The stallion turned around to look at the Changeling, looking almost pathetic as he pouted. “Leviathan?” He whined, gesturing toward the shattered glass that littered the room now.

“Wow,” The Changeling shook his head humorously, picking up the shards with his own magic easily, disposing of them in a nearby trash can in the corner of Irradiance’s room. “It’s incredible how quickly your magic is weakening. Do you think it’ll come and go in waves?” Irradiance just shrugged, slinging the now fully-packed saddlebag over his back, ditching the usage of magic entirely.

“I hope. I’d hate to be useless on this trip! My magic was the whole reason we defeated Lilith in the first place! What if I need awesome magic to defeat Luster Dawn, too?” Leviathan stepped forward and nudged Irradiance’s muzzle with his own, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“Stop stressing. Hibiscus is a talented Unicorn and if we need magic that direly, she’ll be able to help out. You aren’t alone in this, Irradiance.” The Changeling King always knew what to say.

With a sigh, the purple stallion decided to move away from the stressful topic, “You’re right. Let’s go get the others.”

Exiting the Unicorn’s room once more, Irradiance and Leviathan made their way down to the city of Canterlot, choosing to fly rather than walk to speed up the trip. Irradiance hopped onto the Changeling’s back with ease, riding smoothly down the path and landing in front of Hibiscus’ home, which was found right near the University of Friendship. Stepping off his partner’s back, Irradiance knocked on the wooden door with a crystal hoof, still glittering despite the lack of magic.

“Coming!” Said a voice from within the small home. Irradiance had visited a few times before. Her house was a pale pink color, with a tiled roof and several large windows spanning the walls. Many of them were stained glass with no design, simply colored panes of glass. It made her home feel all the more magical. The door swung open, revealing a pink Unicorn with her hair tied up and face flushed, “Oh!” Hibiscus’ eyes darted between the two stallions before her as shock and then recognition filled her face. Her cheeks reddened further. “Irradiance! Leviathan!” She embraced the pair quickly. “Wow! I had no idea you were coming to visit, Your Majesty!” She joked, bowing exaggeratedly at the Changeling.

Leviathan waved a hoof quickly, cheeks reddening. He still hadn’t gotten used to his new title and tried to have his friends use it as little as possible. “Just call me Leviathan, Hibiscus!” He rushed out, wings fluttering within their beetle-like sheath.

Another voice came from within the small house, “Who’s at the door?” Another figure appeared, face just as flushed and hair mussed up. “Lev!” Cobalt embraced the Changeling in a hug even tiger than Hibiscus had, grinning ear to ear. Irradiance quickly inferred what he’d just walked in on and it was his turn for his cheeks to redden.

“Hibiscus!” He exclaimed, looking between the blue and pink ponies, “Are we… interrupting?” He gestured with a hoof and Hibiscus giggled at the suggestion.

“No, no, we’re, uh. Finished,” Irradiance felt his stomach turn. How did he not realize they’d coupled up? He would interrogate the Unicorn later. There were larger things at hand (hoof) that needed to be dealt with.

“Oh, yeah!” Oh, Cobalt. The blue Pegasus’s wings fluttered impatiently, and he failed to realize the embarrassment that his friend was feeling as he admitted their relationship to the stallions at their door, “Hibiscus and I have been dating for, like, a month now!”

“A month!?” Leviathan and Irradiance both exclaimed, eyes nearly popping out of their heads. “How did we not know?” Irradiance added, still in awe. Hibiscus just shrugged, still giggling.

“We never really tried to hide it, we just never outwardly said anything!” Cobalt nodded along, pulling the shorter pony closer to him. They seemed quite happy.

Leviathan refocused the group, “Okay, that’s excellent to hear, but we actually came here for a reason,” He looked toward Irradiance who nodded quickly. “Irradiance is facing some difficulties with his magic. It’s draining.”

Hibiscus gasped, holding a hoof up to her muzzle, “What? How?”

Irradiance shook his head, “Have you ever heard of Princess Luster Dawn?” Hibiscus thought for a moment.

“I don’t know,” She admitted. “Maybe?” Irradiance nodded.

“She, like Princess Luna, felt jealousy as she entered the role of ruling alongside Princess Twilight and the darkness overtook her. She became some cruel version of herself, and Twilight had no solution other than to banish her like Celestia had done with her sister.”

“No way,” Cobalt said, mouth agape. “Was she in that tree?”

“Precisely,” Irradiance nodded at the inference, “When I absorbed her magic, it, like, freed her. And now she’s slowly regaining that magic–”

“By taking it from you?” Hibiscus finished. Irradiance nodded once more. The pink Unicorn just stared, brows furrowed, “That’s terrible!”

“And so we’re here to get you so we can go into the forest and find Luster Dawn,” Leviathan explained to the ponies. “We need to find out what she wants and how we can help her so Irradiance can get his magic back and this can all go away. Amber is already waiting at the castle. I’m sure we’ll leave once everyone’s together again.”

Hibiscus nodded, turning to her friend and then back to the pair standing at her door. “Should I pack?” Irradiance nodded.

“I already have some supplies packed, but I don’t think I’ll be able to help out using my magic,” He lowered his head slightly, ears pushed back in embarrassment.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Hibiscus waved off the handicap. “Marigold is plenty helpful and she’s only an Earth Pony! You’re our friend, Irradiance. Magic or no magic, we’ll help out.”

Cobalt nodded as well, chest puffed out, “Yeah! You rock even if your magic is super cool! We can head over to Marigold’s once Hibiscus and I pack up some stuff from inside. She’s usually working at the apothecary below her apartment.”

Leviathan spoke up, “How about you stay here with Cobalt and Hibiscus, and I’ll go and get Marigold and meet you all back at the castle?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Hibiscus decided. She looked toward the purple stallion, “If this trip hinges on Luster Dawn siphoning your magic away, it’s smart to leave as soon as we can, right?” Irradiance nodded slowly, realizing the logic to that.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay, Leviathan you can go get Marigold and explain it to her and then head back to the castle. I’ll help you guys pack and we’ll meet you back there.” The Changeling nodded, zipping off into the city to fetch the final group member.

The trio stood in silence for a moment before Cobalt gestured for Irradiance to come inside, closing the wooden door behind the stallion. The house was nice and always smelled as though something was baking in the oven, even though Hibiscus nor Cobalt’s talent was anything related to food. It must have been some potion or spell cast on the house to make it smell excellent.

“How long do you think the trip will take?” Hibiscus asked, heading toward a cabinet and rifling through her magic supplies and other items that lie within.

“Hmm, not as long as the trip to the edge of the forest. How long did it take you guys to find my cottage?” Irradiance thought back to the first time he’d met the pair of ponies. It felt so far away!

“Like, thirty minutes?” Cobalt suggested. Hibiscus nodded in agreement. “It didn’t take long for us to make it to where you were. Just a while to get lost.” The trio shared a small laugh at the memory.

“The Element Tree I came into contact with was just a bit farther, so it might take a day, maximum. Bring enough supplies for two, just in case things go wrong,” Irradiance decided to err on the side of caution. Hibiscus seemed to agree, already overpacking her saddlebags before slinging them over her back. Another bag was packed for Cobalt (did he keep stuff here? Had they moved in together yet? Irradiance would need to ask this as they trekked into the forest) and the trio was finished with their preparation.

“Onwards to the Canterlot Castle!” Cobalt said with a flourish, slamming the door behind him a little too hard.

“Hey!” Hibiscus exclaimed. “Careful!” The Pegasus winced.

“Sorry!”

Once more, Irradiance walked back to the castle. He must have lost at least ten pounds after the constant back and forth from the city to the castle itself. Usually, a carriage would allow him a quicker journey, but the stallion had been adamant about no unnecessary royal treatment. He regretted that statement now.

“Amber!” Hibiscus exclaimed once they’d made their way into the castle, entering the throne room and seeing the Dragon Lord herself waiting for the remaining ponies to arrive.

“Hibiscus! Cobalt! It’s great to see you!” The golden Dragon embraced the ponies eagerly. “I never thought I’d miss ponies so much until after meeting you all,” She smiled warmly at the group of ponies. It was a nice sight to behold, the growth of the Dragon Lord. Irradiance didn’t linger too long on the feeling, though.

“We should leave, shouldn’t we?” Princess Twilight nodded from behind Amber.

“Yes. I’ve already readied a carriage to take you to the edge of the forest, though my guards are not prepared to escort you through,” The purple Alicorn looked upon the small group with admiration, “I’m sure you’re entirely capable of navigating the forest on your own, though.”

Leviathan grinned, “That we are, princess! Irradiance knows his way to and past his cottage, Amber knows the perimeter of the Dragonlands, and anywhere within sight of the Red Hive is easily navigable by myself.”

Twilight looked upon the group with pride, smiling brightly, “Then, by all means, allow my guards to escort you out! I will remain here so this is my final goodbye until your return. Please, be safe.”

Irradiance looked at his teacher with confidence, “We will be, Twilight.”

With a resolute nod from Princess Twilight, the group made their final preparations to leave. The carriage awaited them just beyond the castle gates, white and gold motifs feeling strange to the purple stallion as he recalled the deep colors of the forest he was once so familiar with. Even his coat had taken on a brighter hue, now, no longer dusted with dirt from living inside of his forest cottage.

As the Unicorn looked upon his friends, Irradiance felt a surge of hope wash over him. Despite his weakening magic, he knew he wasn't alone. His friends were his strength, and together, they could face any obstacle.

The group made their way to the carriage, each step filled with purpose. Spearhead and Canon Ball eagerly waved to the ponies and other creatures, urging them to return safely. Irradiance had truly become quite a celebrity in Canterlot! And by association, so had all of his friends. Should any of them not return, the city would be devastated! Irradiance shook even the idea of the reality from his mind before it could spiral any further.

“Are you alright?” Leviathan nudged his partner lightly, not calling attention to the rest of the group.

Irradiance nodded with a shy smile, “I’m okay. Let’s just hurry,” He could feel the magic seep away with every step closer to the forest. Could Luster Dawn drain him quicker as his distance from her decreased? He should have asked Twilight…

As they boarded the carriage, Irradiance took a moment to look back at the castle. He’d just come here and found his place in Equestria, no longer subjected to any pain or foolish bullying from Unicorns his age. He was a true student of the Princess now and he had purpose. And now that purpose was to defeat another villain. Oh well.

The carriage ride was smooth. The cityscape of Canterlot soon gave way to the rolling hills and dense forests. A nostalgic sight. The familiar scent of pine and earth filled the air as the ponies approached the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Hibiscus leaned over to Irradiance, her eyes filled with concern she was unable to hide, “We’re here for you, Irradiance. You defeated Lilith in the hive, and that was just on your own! I know you can defeat Luster Dawn.”

“Because you have us, this time!” Marigold chimed happily, lifting a hoof in excitement. She might have missed the forest more than Irradiance, which felt a bit ironic.

Irradiance nodded and smiled, grateful for the support of his friends. “Thank you, guys. I couldn't do this without you all. Especially with no magic this time.”

As the carriage came to a halt at the forest's edge, the group disembarked, their hooves crunching on the dirt path that had formed over the years of ponies venturing in and out (though coming out wasn’t as common). The Everfree Forest loomed before them, a maze of trees and shadows. It was oddly comforting to Irradiance. He stepped forward. He had to find Luster Dawn and fix his magic. Breathing in, the pine scent filled Irradiance’s nostrils and he smiled. “Okay,” He breathed to the rest of the group, beginning his trek to the Element Tree, “Let’s go.”

Author's Note

sorry for the hiatus! work and school and family have been crazy! i feel like an ao3 author with the random stuff happening in life rn. enjoy!

Prologue

Equestria had been waiting for a second princess to join Twilight’s reign for years. It was common knowledge that princesses Celestia and Luna, though born sisters, had both wound up happily ruling the land in harmony, raising the moon and sun in tandem and keeping the ponies of the land happy.

Of course, after Princess Flurry Heart’s coronation, there was a second princess available, but Flurry Heart ruled the Crystal Empire specifically, never ruling over Princess Twilight’s domain. It was an unspoken rule. The retired princesses– Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, were always there in the background (Cadence most of all; it was her daughter, after all!) but they’d stepped away to let Twilight run the show for the time being.

It was inevitable, however, for Princess Twilight, the princess representative of friendship as an element, of peace across the land, of a powerful Alicorn that had worked for her success… it was inevitable that she would eventually seek an heir. Or, at the very least, a companion in her lonesome regal journey as the sole ruler of Equestria.

Her pick? Luster Dawn. Top student of the Magic Academy, run by Celestia but formally in the name of Twilight now, Luster was incapable of making proper friends on her own; it was the perfect opportunity to select a student and train her to be great, just like Celestia had done for Twilight! With her royal advisor by her side, and friends available to help Twilight come to the decision that this was a smart pick, Twilight offered Luster the position of her student. Or rather, offered her the chance to work toward becoming the next princess of Equestria.

The outcome wasn’t guaranteed. There was Sunset Shimmer, a reknowned Unicorn who had fled to the Mirror Realm, who had been Celestia’s student before Twilight. But with the luck Celestia had had with Twilight, who was to say the current princess couldn’t pick an Alicorn of her own? If Luster proved herself, the purple princess was sure things would work out well in the end.

“You really need to work toward making friends, you know,” Twilight had told the young Unicorn one afternoon in the Canterlot Castle. “It was what kept me going when I had moved to Ponyville!”

Luster had shaken her head, golden mane swaying to and fro in its high ponytail it was always tied up into, “I just don’t see the point! You’ve been saying this but I achieve more on my own!”

“I thought you said you enjoyed working and isn’t searching for friends work?” Twilight had recalled the first conversation they’d had after the offer was presented to the mare. Luster had hummed.

“I enjoy working, but I just don’t enjoy ponies!”

“Give someone a chance, Luster. I know there’s a group of creatures out there for you somewhere.” And there was! Within months of Twilight pushing her and the mare’s attendance at the university, Luster Dawn had befriended a Griffon, Kirin, Dragon, Changeling, and another pony. They’d shared common study habits and all went to sit at the same table in the library at once, creating a study group accidentally! Twilight had laughed wholeheartedly at the intense similarities she and her student shared.

Time passed and Twilight did anything but age. Her friends had grown weary and grey and the princess could do nothing but watch on as Rainbow and Applejack raised Zap Apple into adulthood. Lil’ Cheese became the next comedian of Ponyville. Discord began confiding in Twilight when it came to the aging of the once-virile Mane Six.

“Fluttershy hasn’t changed, has she?” The Draconequus had said once, startling the princess. Twilight had hummed in response.

“No… not much. She’s still Fluttershy. None of us have changed all that much,” After their final few adventures, Twilight had left the defeat of monsters and villains to the young six, with Gallus leading her guard now, though, another group needed to take their place, she figured.

“You’ll miss them when they’re gone, you know,” Discord had snapped the Alicorn back to reality. She was immortal, now. Celestia, Luna, and Discord had seen generations pass under their watchful eye. Now it was Twilight’s turn. She felt her stomach turn at the reminder.

Here, now, watching Luster Dawn earn her wings after nearly a decade of training, Twilight missed her friends more than ever. The young Unicorn earned her wings, pink and gold spiraling up into the sky as her group of friends watched on in awe, amazed that the young student could earn such a title at such a young age! (She was no younger than Twilight had been, but that was beside the point).

“Oh, wow, Twilight!” Luster marveled at her new appendages, grinning ear to ear as she spun around trying to take in the reality of the situation. She had defeated a villain– thinking back, Twilight wasn’t sure which villain. There were so many all the time– and in doing so, she saved her friends and proved that friendship meant a lot to her. The newest generation of Elements had secured themselves to this six set of creatures and Luster had earned the title of princess. Twilight was so, so proud. Celestia was, too, as she watched on from afar.

“Congratulations, Luster. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are, and I can’t wait to welcome you into the castle when you’re ready to join me on the throne.”

Luster had stared up at Twilight with a strange look in her eye that the purple princess couldn’t quite place. Looking back now, she should have noticed what was wrong instantly, “I’ll be ruling with you?”

Celestia had plenty of students. Not all had become Alicorns. Twilight wasn’t even sure if Cadence counted as a student of Celestia. She was her niece, sure, but student? It had taken the princess a long time to decide to retire and even longer to choose an heir! Twilight had been lucky to have that blessing placed upon her shoulders. Had Celestia had children, maybe then the burden of ruling would have been given to those colts or fillies, but Equestria was only so lucky to have one Alicorn-born princess in their midst. At least, for now. Who knew what the princesses were up to in retirement?

The point was, that Celestia hadn’t given up the throne to the first student she saw potential in. She’d seen flaws in Twilight and gotten to know her! Known her friends, known everything about her and even considered her close friends before deciding she was mature enough to handle ruling the very country in which she resided in. Had Luster Dawn really thought she’d get the throne immediately after her coronation? Or ascension?

“Yes, of course!” Twilight had smiled down at her student, confused at the request for clarification, “Celestia and Luna raised the sun and moon, and now they’re still capable of doing that of course, but in name and to help in retirement, we’ll take over the maintaining of dawn and dusk, ensuring balance in the continued rule of Equestria!” It was an honor! It should have been an honor!

But as time went on, Luster only became more frustrated. She’d worked toward her wings, to become an Alicorn, and Twilight could see she was frustrated at having to share her power. Which was ridiculous! She wasn’t sure if she could, but if proven unworthy after her ascension, could Twilight take her wings away? Maybe she’d ask Celestia about that…

“...I’m just saying, who needs friends now that I’m a princess?” What!? Had Twilight heard correctly?

“What?” One of Luster’s friends spoke up. The whole group was there! In the hallway of Canterlot Castle, was Luster Dawn breaking up with her friends?

“I’ve proved myself worthy! I don’t need to keep friends around to reiterate the point! Now I can go back to being solitary and enjoying my privacy in my projects!”

“Luster, you can’t be serious!” Twilight felt the same as the Dragon! What was this mare talking about? “We’re supposed to be the new Elements of Harmony! We can’t just stop being friends!”

“The Elements of Harmony exist in name only, now. The tree was lost to Sombra ages ago! Don’t you read up on history?”

“You were supposed to teach us! That was the dynamic– you were the smart one!”

“You’re dismissed,” Luster had cut off the pony speaking, turning to leave and nearly catching sight of Princess Twilight watching from afar. It made the purple mare’s stomach churn hearing the student she had seen so much promise in turn around and decide to destroy the lessons she’d been taught right in front of her mentor.

Twilight had to confront her! Stepping out, she cut off the younger mare. “Luster Dawn–”

“That’s Princess Luster Dawn,” The younger Alicorn sidestepped the mare before her and Twilight’s jaw dropped. The audacity! Twilight had given her that title! Who did she think she was? What was happening?

Twilight angrily stomped after her pupil, “Luster Dawn! You were trained to be a student of the university of friendship and to appreciate friendship in your life! What’s happened to you? Why are you being so cruel to your friends?” The pink Alicorn shrugged as she continued walking.

“I have no need for them anymore. I need to focus on how to better Equestria and I can’t deal with any distractions!”

“Friends aren’t distractions! They’re a support system!” Luster rolled her eyes and Twilgith’s jaw dropped further than it ever had before.

“What happened to you?” The princess breathed, absolutely offended at her choice of partner in monarchy. Luster scoffed.

“I trained all this time to be a princess only to learn I get no kingdom of my own! Even Princess Cadence’s daughter gets her own kingdom! You got your own castle!” Twilight was appalled! Had Luster even taken in what the friendship lessons were about? So many questions rolled through her head, but there was no satiating Luster Dawn. The more Twilight asked, the worse the attitude of the pony before her got. She should have let it go sooner. She never should have chosen Luster Dawn as a student.

The development of Breaking Dawn didn’t come as a surprise to Twilight.

All the pressure and anger and clear jealousy that being a princess alongside Twilight rather than in her place had broken Luster Dawn and she’d turned to darkness, becoming a mess of a pony and wreaking havoc on the ponies of Canterlot and beyond. Pink coat now a deep burgundy and her golden mane now a shimmering lavender, Luster had engulfed the city in a blazing sunrise, never allowing the sun to rise or set, keeping Equestria in a permanent purgatory of time. It was days before Twilight was finally able to end the tantrum she’d pushed her student to have.

“Luster!” Twilight had cried, chasing down the corrupted young Alicorn. It broke her heart to see history repeat itself, yet another set of Alicorns turning against each other. But this was the only option. Luster couldn’t be reasoned with!

“Luster Dawn is no more!” The tall creature had hissed at Twilight, blasting a beam of magic right at her, missing narrowly and setting a tree ablaze. “Breaking Dawn is here now! I shall take over and I shall rule Equestria alone! You’re too soft! Friendship is meaningless!”

“Luster, please! I don't want to do this! Please, tell me you can come back from this! Apologize!”

“Never!”

Twilight had lost track of what happened after the shouting match. Eqeustraia was excited about the new Alicorn princess, and Twilight had failed. She’d chosen the wrong one to take over and now here she was, preparing herself to banish the pony just as Celestia had done to Luna. Her heart shattered.

“I’m sorry, Luster Dawn!” With a blast of that magenta magic and screams of protest from the Alicorn, Luster Dawn was banished, never to be seen until a millennia later. It was the default banishment spell, it seemed. Twilight could only hope that her citizens would understand the sacrifice (they would. It wasn’t something they’d never seen before).

When a thousand years later, when a new student would emerge for Twilight to train, she would think nothing of the tree shifting in the Everfree Forest, waking once more after a thousand years dormant. As golden eyes opened in the dim light of the forest’s canopy, a truth would come to light and Equestria would once more be in grave danger.

Author's Note

silly luster dawn! you cant just rule equestria off the bat! you need at LEAST nine seasons of background adventures and you've barely had any!!!
idk if people read sequels but i LOVE writing this story! its an overarching new version of MLP:FiM called mlp Friendship is Enchanting! sooo stick around in this story to see how that plays out bc Crystalline Destiny was just the beginning!!

Chapter One

Idle chatter filled the coffee shop, ponies walking to and fro as they grabbed their drinks and found a spot to sit either alone or with their friends. Irradiance enjoyed pony-watching while he sipped his latte, purple magic bringing the mug to his lips. Observing the crowd, he caught a glimpse of two ponies he had grown so fond of.

“Irradiance!” Hibiscus cheered, quickly walking over to embrace her fellow Unicorn in a tight hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages!” The pink pony was always such a cheerful character. Irradiance had been cooped up in his study for so long; he’d missed the light she brought!

“I know, I know. I only really talk to Leviathan these days– and that’s not even in person,” The purple stallion recalled the crystal ball he’d snatched from his partner, now using it to communicate with each other when they had some free time.

“How’s he doing, by the way?” Marigold, the yellow Earth Pony, emerged from behind Hibiscus and spoke up. Her hair was just as wild as ever, placed in a pretty bun atop her head. She looked tired, probably from the potion lessons she’d been giving so many Equestrians.

Irradiance thought about how to respond for a minute, “He’s doing okay. It’s a bug adjustment going from enemies to partners with one pony and then becoming king of an entire civilization. He’s needed time away and some of his citizens still aren’t totally on board with the reformation thing.”

“They don’t want to be prettier?” Hibiscus scoffed, “No offense, but holes in the legs are kind of icky.”

There were sudden cheers within the coffee shop (mostly mares) and Irradiance looked over his friends’ shoulders to see a blue Pegasus waltzing into the room, head held high and still in uniform.

“Irradiance!” Cobalt called, ignoring his adoring fans and walking over to the thin stallion, giving him a tight hug before greeting the other two mares present. “Sorry, I was late. Training ran long.”

Irradiance just shook his head, waving with a hoof in dismissal, “Don’t worry about it. There’s no rush to get here, just friends hanging out. My exams are coming up in a couple of months and I wanted to see you guys before I end up stuck at home all the time again!”

“We do rarely see you these days… are you sure Princess Twilight is taking good care of you? Do we need to defeat another royal leader?” Hibiscus teased, leaning forward and earning a laugh from Irradiance.

“No, no! It’s just a lot of, like, friendship lessons and stuff. Since I’ve already got friends, Twilight wants me to start honing my magic and being just like Starswirl the Bearded, or whoever her idol was,” Irradiance explained, thinking back to all he’d been doing this last year.

After the defeat of Queen Lilith, all the ponies and creatures involved had gone their separate ways for a while but still managed to meet up as often as they could. Apart from Amber and Leviathan, of course, since they both had their own kingdoms to rule. The pair of leaders kept in touch with each other though, and Leviathan most often spoke with Irradiance, leading to a string of messages always making it through the group eventually.

Within the last three months, however, Irradiance’s training under Princess Twilight as her next student was getting stressful. He was trying to work toward becoming the next great sorcerer of Equestria (whether that involved getting wings or not, Irradiance wasn’t sure) and he was having to jump through hundreds of hoops to get there. This meant being locked away in libraries for hours, even days at a time!

“As long as you’re not too overwhelmed,” Marigold chimed in again. “I have plenty of herbal remedies for stress. And for focus. Canterlot has tons of great resources for shops like mine! You really need to come by, Irradiance!”

“I will, I promise!” It was not at all a guarantee that he’d actually make it by; Irradiance was always iffy when it came to “natural remedies.” But as long as Marigold was finally out of the forest and feeling welcome in town, he’d try to indulge her new interests. “I haven’t even gotten to talk to you about this!” Irradiance gestured to Cobalt, still dressed in his Wonderbolt uniform. The blue Pegasus reddened for a moment before responding.

“They made me an honorary member and stuff, but I still haven’t finished the formal training,” He pointed to the badge on his chest that signified “in training,” though Irradiance was sure he was already at the point of near-mastery. “So I’m working double time compared to the other recruits! They just really want me in, so I have to work for it.”

“Wonderbolts don’t play with favoritism I guess,” Hibiscus shrugged before her eyes shot wide open and she gasped, “I forgot to tell you! Guess who enrolled in the Friendship University?” Irradiance had nearly forgotten Hibiscus was working as a professor there!

“Who?” He asked, head tilted in question.

“Abbadon!”

Irradiance’s mouth fell open, as did Cobalt’s and Marigold’s. “You’re kidding!” The purple stallion managed, composing himself, “I thought Leviathan said he was still in denial of the death of Queen Lilith?” Hibiscus shrugged once more, eyes closing as she did for a moment, curly pink mane bouncing.

“He’s on the journey to reformation! It’s not like he can feed off of the other students, though. Leviathan assigned him a guard at all times to ensure he isn’t causing harm in the school. You really scored in the boyfriend category,” Hibiscus winked at the purple stallion, causing him to flush and awkwardly laugh in response.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We barely knew each other when that started out.”

“Are you saying you aren’t working out now?” Cobalt questioned.

“No! I’m just saying we’ve changed! Long distance is weird. I guess not all the news he tells me is the most recent.”

Marigold put a hoof on top of Irradiance’s, sensing a bit of doubt coming from the stallion, “It’ll work out, don’t worry.”

Together again, irradiance relished in the company of his friends, glad to have met him and more grateful still that they stuck with him after the journey was over! Defeating a Changeling Queen and then sticking by his side while he was comatose for a day? That’s hardcore friend stuff! Twilight would have to let him pass whatever exams she had coming his way!

“I need to get back to the shop,” Marigold excused herself, standing up after about an hour of talking and catching up with the other ponies, “Can’t be closed all day. The favor I asked of my neighbors’ is kind of reliant on the fact that I come back eventually.”

Irradiance nodded in understanding. He was living rent-free at the Canterlot Castle, but he understood that Marigold was now renting, something she hadn’t been used to doing before moving to Canterlot with everyone else. “Well, it was great seeing you!” He gave her a quick hug, waving as she walked out of the coffee shop and back toward her own place. Hibiscus and Cobalt, close friends as they were, decided to leave next with each other.

“I should get going, too,” Hibiscus spoke, looking at the blue Pegasus and then to Irradiance. “Students at the university are approaching that time of the year when our exams are coming up. I’ve got advising to oversee and extra credit to start thinking about!” She seemed happy being a teacher. Irradiance was glad to see it.

“I’ll head out with Hibiscus,” Cobalt nodded toward his friend. “She and I have barely spoken at all! Now that we have a minute, we’re going to catch up. I can show you what I’ve been learning with the Wonderbolts!” In a lower pitch, the Pegasus added, “Without the crazy fanmares…”

Irradiance laughed at the joke, nodding for his friends to get going. With a series of simple purple flashes, the stallion cleared off his table, moving his mug and napkin away, setting his chair back beneath the table it was at, and walking alongside his friends out of the small building. “Well, it was great seeing you all. I’m sure we’ll be in touch again soon. Leviathan said he plans to visit sometime this month!” Irradiance grinned toward the end, obviously ecstatic to see his partner once more. Hibiscus and Cobalt shared a knowing look.

“Don’t rush to invite us,” Hibiscus teased. “You two can enjoy all the time you want together…”

“Yeah,” Cobalt made a face of almost disgust, “I don’t want to get in the middle of… that. Are we still sure Leviathan’s kingdom doesn’t feed off of love?” Irradiance felt his cheeks get hot, “Because, with you, I mean jeez!”

“Cobalt!” Hibiscus hissed, smacking her friend with a pink hoof. “Sorry about him! We’ll get going. See you soon, Irradiance!” The blue and pink pair faded as they made their way down the road of Canterlot, off to Hibiscus’ apartment (since Cobalt was off living in Cloudsdale now that he was training to be a Wonderbolt). Irradiance was alone once more.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Irradiance decided he’d head back toward the castle and stay in his room, getting a head start on studying for his exams. Princess Twilight would be testing him on all things friendship and magic! As he walked out of the coffee shop in the opposite direction of his friends, Irradiance waved to plenty of passers-by.

After his return from the forest, Irradiance was a bit of a celebrity… for a while, anyways. His memorial at the school remained intact, now with some additions of Hibiscus’ achievements alongside his. There were discounts in his honor, a day still remained as his remembrance day for most of the Unicorn population, and his name was known by ponies he’d never even met! Irradiance was fabled to be the next popular foal name!

It was a lot to take in. It was a year down the line, though, and Irradiance was pleasantly used to all the fame and greetings by now, knowing most of the names of the ponies and shopkeepers that lived nearest to his own residence. Cobalt, Hibiscus, and Marigold were all known names, too, though they were admittedly lesser known than the missing student from Celestia’s Magic Academy.

Walking up the hill and making his way onto the path into the castle’s front doors, the guards outside swiftly stepped aside, “Irradiance! Welcome back!” They spoke in unison, both Pegasi standing straight, wings pressed to their bodies. This was admittedly hard to get used to. He wasn’t royalty, and for all Irradiance knew, Twilight’s previous students were not treated this way! Not even Luster Dawn!

“Hey, Spearhead, Canon Ball,” The purple stallion nodded at both guards. “Has Twilight been in?”

Spearhead, the guard to the left, perked up. “Yeah, actually! She mentioned wanting to speak with you, so good timing getting back so soon!”

Canon Ball nodded along as his fellow Pegasus spoke, “She’s in the throne room right now. I don’t think any of your friends are there… oh! Except–” Spearhead held out a white wing, silencing his fellow guard.

“Except no one! He just met all of his friends down at the cafe in the city!” There was a very dramatic wink that followed, and Irradiance watched, almost irritated with confusion, as he watched Canon Ball very slowly start to nod along after widening his eyes.

“Yes! There is no one in there! Except Twilight!” The stallion screwed his face up in confusion, finally pressing past the white Pegasus guards and walking into the castle.

“You guys are weird. Talk to you later!”

“Bye, Irradiance!” Both guards said in unison once more, the wide doors swishing open and then slamming shut as the Unicorn made his way inside, greeting his teacher.

“Hello, Twilight!” The princess was sitting in her throne, beautiful as ever, looking down with grace at her pupil. “Spearhead and Canon Ball said you were about to summon me. Is something wrong?” At the mention of his summons, Twilight’s face scrunched up, brows furrowed as she looked to her left.

“As a matter of fact… yes, something is wrong,” Oh no. Was he fired from being a student? Irradiance felt his heart rate speed up in anxiety. “It’s the Everfree Forest…”

“What?” Eyes blown wide, Irradiance felt his heart rate stop! He’d managed to get out of there and have friends and a place in society once more. What was pulling him back toward his old place of exile?

Twilight just nodded, looking nervous. Her mane billowed even though no wind was present and it was enchanting despite the anxiety present in the room, “There’s some history that wound up buried during my rule as princess of Equestria. It’s been nearly a thousand years since my coronation and I was supposed to announce an heir, or at the very least, a partner in my rule!”

“Like Princess Celestia and her sister, Luna?” Irradiance asked, to which Twilight nodded.

“Precisely. It’s a tradition for rulers of kingdoms to come in pairs as of recently, which isn’t a rule, but it lessens the load. Cadence and Shining, and now Flurry Heart with Cadence in the background, and myself and Luster Dawn were supposed to be the next rulers of Equestria. She was an excellent student!” Irradiance sensed a “but” coming along.

“...But,” Twilight began again after a short pause. Irradiance called it. “She got greedy with power once it was granted. She couldn’t be reasoned with! And like Nightmare Moon…”

“You banished her?” Irradiance finished, connecting the dots. “Where? To the moon?” Twilight shook her head.

“To an Element Tree in the Everfree Forest. She was supposed to stay there for a millennium before she was released. Citizens that witnessed her banishment have all since passed, and the news was kept so quiet that newer generations no longer know of the legend of the Tree Mare,” Twilight let out a sigh, golden crown shimmering against her sparkling mane. She did seem lonely, with none of the original Elements by her side or any other princesses to rule with her.

“So what’s wrong?” Irradiance backtracked, wondering where he fit into in all of this. “Why did you bring me here? Why are you telling me this?” He took a couple of steps forward, crystal hooves clacking on the stone floor of the palace.

Twilight steadied herself, looking at Irradiance with a stern look, “Your awakening of the Element Tree– the one that granted you those powers?” Twilight gestured to the stallion’s hooves and horn. His curse. “That was the tree Luster Dawn was in. After you removed the magic from the tree that Lilith had been feeding on–”

“Queen Lilith was feeding on Alicorn magic?” Irradiance gawked. This was incredible! No wonder the magic source made him so powerful! He’d nearly soaked up all of the actual Alicorn magic! Not that it could even be depleted, not alongside the magic already present in the Element Tree! Twilight nodded once more. She was nodding a lot. Was her neck hurting, Irradiance wondered.

“What I’m saying, Irradiance, is that after Queen Liltih’s defeat, the Element Tree was stirring. Luster Dawn is breaking free and I worry she will try to take over once she’s out.”

Author's Note

swag just like princess luna in the first eps of FiM, i am using a similar plot for this one!! but its different bc i wrote it and i invented a whole new character for luster dawn. but idk what to call it. Breaking Dawn? but I'm pretty sure that's a twilight book... idk well see where this goes.

Chapter Two

“Princess Luster Dawn was banished to the exact tree that cursed me ten years ago, which had its magic sucked out and now she’s likely about to be on a rampage across Equestria?” Irradiance gaped up at his superior, mouth open and eyes wide. “And what’s my role in this?”

“You and your friends understand the tree and the layout of the Everfree Forest in its most recent form. Should Luster Dawn take cover under the darkness of the forest, you would be my first choice of explorers,” Twilight’s voice wavered. She was clearly nervous to request this of her student so early into his learning. “Would you accept?”

Irradiance was silent for a moment. He’d just enjoyed one year of being in pony society again, with friends and a partner who all supported him. And he was being given actual royal treatment! Giving up all of this to return to the forest that made him leave in the beginning? That wasn’t an easy task. It wasn’t an easy thing to answer so quickly! Holding up a hoof and scrunching up his face in thought, Irradiance responded, “Can I have a day or two to think about it?”

Twilight seemed far too understanding, “Of course!” She finally descended from her throne and called over another Pegasus guard. “Please, take all the time you need. I’ve only felt the magic shift in the forest, I haven’t felt any breaking through of the barrier that the tree places around Luster Dawn,” Twilight looked at the guard with mischief in her otherwise very serious eyes, “Please, escort Irradiance to his room, will you?” The guard nodded, grunting in acknowledgment.

“Thank you, Princess Twilight,” Irradiance bowed his head to his teacher before turning to leave out of the throne room and down the hall, up the stairs, toward his room. So early in the day and things were already stressful! The stallion would have to call his friends back sooner rather than later to discuss the adventure that may lie ahead. If they didn't go back to face the issue, who would?

“You seem tense,” The guard piped up, helmet hiding his face. Irradiance just scoffed, half surprised the guard was still standing there, half surprised that he hadn’t recognized him! Irradiance knew most of the guards’ names. Except this one… he seemed familiar, though.

“Yeah, well, I am tense. Didn’t you hear Twilight?” The guard nodded. The green of his mane shifted with the motion. Irradiance swore he could place him. He let out a massive sigh, flopping on top of his bed in exhaustion. “I was getting comfortable here! I don’t want to go back into the forest already!”

“Even if I come with you?” The guard spoke, confusing Irradiance. Sitting up quickly to face the stallion, the Unicorn scoffed once more.

“You? Why would–” The Pegasus had removed his helmet, revealing a green Pegasus with a darker green mane and brilliant blue eyes, grinning at Irradiance. “Leviathan!” Irradiance leaped across the room and embraced the other stallion in a tight hug, breathing him in. “I thought you weren’t visiting until later in the month!”

The Changeling laughed heartily, changing into his actual form in a flash of red light with his red and purple mane, jewel-like wings, and ruby red eyes, “Princess Twilight wanted to continue discussing the alliance between Ponies and Changelings, as well as the pony brewing in the forest… I knew you’d need support so I pushed some things back and made time to visit!”

Irradiance pressed a swift kiss to Leviathan before pulling back and reiterating the conflict at hand, “Thank you. I do need support,” He sat back on the bed, thinking. “Should we go back to the forest?” Leviathan just shrugged, red eyes gleaming. The Changeling approached the bed, seating himself beside the Unicorn as they discussed their options.

“You managed to convert me and defeat my mother with all the magic in that horn,” Leviathan tapped a hoof to Irradiance’s crystal horn that zig-zagged as it emerged from his head. “If anyone can face an Alicorn in the forest, it would be you!”

“Just me?” Irradiance repeated, unsure. Leviathan rolled his eyes.

“And the others, duh. Amber, Marigold, Cobalt, Hibiscus… and an army of Changelings that support your defeat of the old queen and made way for a magical reign!” Leviathan grinned, incredibly supportive and proud of his accomplishment in getting his kingdom to unite. Mostly. Like 75 percent of the way there. He was pretty sure. “I can hear you overthinking, Irradiance. We’ll all be with you if you decide to go into the forest and see what’s happening, okay?” Leviathan nudged the purple stallion’s muzzle with his own, trying to get him to perk up out of his anxious state. The Unicorn smiled, leaning into the touch.

“Okay, okay. Thank you, Leviathan. I’ll think about it,” Irradiance settled himself, deciding to shelve the idea until a later date. “Have you visited anyone else in Canterlot yet?” The Changeling shook his head.

“No, I came here first. Spoke with Twilight and now you.”

“You should visit! We were all just talking about you and Amber before I came back here,” Irradiance suggested. He picked himself up and approached the balcony, looking out on the town below. “We stopped at that cafe over there!” He pointed a purple hoof toward the small cafe where he’d just enjoyed a latte at.

Leviathan walked over and looked down as well, waving as he made eye contact with a couple of passing ponies within his eyesight. “How’s teacher life treating Hibiscus?”

Irradiance groaned humorously, “She loves it, don’t get me wrong. But she’s always stuck with students and in advising and blah, blah, blah!” The Changeling Prince chuckled at the mumbling.

“You’re not a fan?”

“I was in a school for years, Leviathan. I don’t need to hear about my old school days that I missed out on while I was away in the forest because I was too insecure about my appearance,” The stallion said in a huff, leaning his head on his hoof as he continued to gaze out at the ground below. He, too, waved at a few passing ponies. The missing student was a famed name, and no matter how much Irradiance tried to get used to it, it was strange to always be recognized. Quickly inhaling, Irradiance stood up and backed away from the balcony, approaching the door to his room, “We should go down there!”

Leviathan cocked his head, “To the school?” Irradiance scoffed.

“No, silly! To the cafe!” Irradiance went to turn the doorknob with bright purple magic, but it faded away right as he walked up to the exit, making him walk directly into the door instead of through it. “What the-?” Irradiance shook his head, irritated at the strange accident he’d just caused. Leviathan was laughing behind the Unicorn, approaching and turning the doorknob with his own red magic.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it for you, clumsy.”

Irradiance laughed awkwardly at the incident and stepped through the door with a peck on the cheek from Leviathan. He was confused. He’d never stuttered with his magic before, especially not after he’d been cursed with all of his Element Tree magic. Must have been anxiety spiking, he figured. “Sorry, I have no idea why that happened!”

Leviathan waved a hoof, “Don’t stress. Let’s just go down to the cafe and I can try one of your fun pony drinks!”

“Have you really never been here before?” Irradiance watched as his partner shook his head.

“I’m only here for diplomatic meetings with Princess Twilight when I come by. Or to see you,” The Changeling sent a wink at the purple stallion resulting in giggles. Irradiance was never going to get used to Leviathan being such an open flirt after they’d established their relationship.

Getting to know each other in about five days wasn’t a healthy start to a relationship, they knew that. But the chemistry they felt was real and the pair of stallions had wanted to chase it. So, with some distance between the two, they’d gotten to know each other a bit more as the year went on and Irradiance had come to realize that the Changeling Prince was an immense flirt. It was a marvel he hadn’t already found love in that Changeling Hive of his!

“Mother said romance between myself and drones was off limits,” Leviathan had explained one night in bed. Irradiance understood, but still! He had plenty of fanfillies in Equestria now, he was sure.

“Do you like sweets?” Irradiance asked and Leviathan grinned devilishly.

“Very much so,” Another wink.

“Stop that!” Irradiance exclaimed, turning red. “I was going to suggest the salted caramel latte, but since you’re so adamant about making jokes and doting on me maybe I won’t take you there at all and we’ll just sit at home allllll day,” Irradiance drew out the syllables, exaggerating his words as the pair exited the castle, waving to Canon Ball and Spearhead as they left.

“Hi, Leviathan!” Spearhead waved. The Changeling waved back with a smile.

“Did they know you were in there?” Irradiance asked, receiving a nod in response.

“I told them not to tell you so it would be a surprise,” He said simply as he walked alongside the Unicorn.

The path from the Canterlot Castle down to the city itself was simply paved and easy to navigate. It wasn’t longer than about ten minutes before the pair had made their way back down to the location Irradiance was at just an hour or two prior to now! He half-hoped that the staff had switched over since it would feel awkward to be there again on the same day.

“Watch out!” There was a warning as a ball flew toward Irradiance, who went to stop the ball with his magic before it fizzed out in a flicker of purple and black, evaporating entirely as the ball smacked the stallion in the face.

“HEY!” Leviathan raced toward the offender: a young colt and his friends playing ball in the center of the street. “Watch where you’re throwing things!”

The colt looked up in fear at the king, quickly retrieving his ball and returning to his friends with a timid, “Sorry!” Called back in apology.

Leviathan huffed, flaring his nostrils before coming to the aid of his partner, “Hey,” He turned the stallion’s head toward himself to see if there was any outward injury. Indeed, there was a bruise beginning to form on the stallion’s muzzle, “Oh, Irradiance! Are you okay?”

Steadying himself, Irradiance just looked at the stallion with confusion. How had his magic fizzled out not once, but twice now? In the same day! Something was wrong and Irradiance had no clue what it could possibly be. He was imbued with the magic of an Alicorn and yet it was failing? And only just now?

“Maybe we should tell Princess Twilight about this,” Leviathan suggested, tone unsure.

“Yeah,” Irradiance agreed, moving out of his partner’s grasp, turning away from the cafe, and heading back toward the castle for a second time today.

Author's Note

new chapter!!! its fun writing these characters after i already established all their lore in the first book. i LOVE irradiance and leviathan btw. I've already commissioned an artist to draw them kissing :3

Chapter Three

The sterile room of the royal doctor’s office was unfamiliar to Irradiance. He’d lived here for so long and hadn’t ever gotten sick. Or rather, he’d never gotten so sick that he’d needed medical assistance other than one of Marigold’s remedies or one of Hibiscus’ spells for healing. Now, surrounded by vials that didn’t at all resemble those he had back home in the forest, he felt more anxious than soothed when it came to the medical care he was about to receive.

“So you want me to check out his… horn?” The nurse, Nurse Bluecross, asked with an uncertain expression. Irradiance could guess why she seemed hesitant to start her examination. Leviathan was oblivious to this implication.

“Yes! We were out and about and all of a sudden his magic starts fizzling out!” The Changeling stomped a hoof. “Is this common for ponies of Equestria? Because I’ve never seen it in any of my own citizens,” Leviathan looked between Irradiance and Bluecross nervously. It was sweet that he was so concerned about the stallion.

Nurse Bluecross, still unfamiliar with crystal horn anatomy, approached the subject slowly, adjusting her red glasses with a white hoof, picking up a clipboard with her magic, “Alright, Irradiance. So tell me in detail when this happened?”

Irradiance stuttered for a moment, “Uh, well, I went to open my door and my magic just… stopped working! Leviathan had to get the door for me after I walked into it.” His face reddened a little at the memory from earlier this morning. Nurse Bluecross wrote something down on the clipboard, adjusting a blue hair out of her face as she did so.

“And was that the only time this happened?” She looked up at Irradiance again, urging him to respond.

Touching the bruise blooming on his face, Irradiance shook his head, “No, we were in Canterlot when a colt threw a ball at me and I tried to catch it, but my magic just stopped working!”

“And it hit him in the face!” Leviathan finished, sounding almost heartbroken. “Can we get a bandage or something for his muzzle, at least?” Nurse Bluecross set the clipboard down and nodded, grabbing a bandage and levitating it over to her patient. There was soon a bright white bandage on Irradiance’s muzzle and no cure for his magic. Sounded familiar, if he were to be honest.

“Okay, Irradiance, has this ever happened before?” At the stallion’s confused expression, Bluecross clarified with a sigh, “As a young colt, or maybe right before you got your Cutie Mark?” She waved a hoof around, trying to get Irradiance to remember some time this had happened before, but she was out of luck!

Irradiance shook his head, turquoise hair shaking back and forth as he did so, “I’ve never had an issue with my magic. I went to the Magic Academy as a colt and I had this curse only a little while after I was accepted there. Ever since, I’ve only been excellent at magic.” It sounded so much like bragging but Irradiance was only telling the truth! He didn’t know if the staff knew about Princess Luster Dawn, or rather, what she’d become. Telling the nurse he had Alicorn magic would only confuse her!

Nurse Bluecross hummed, setting down the clipboard and tapping a hoof to her chin before sighing sadly and shaking her head, “I’m sorry boys, but I don’t know what could be wrong with you. Sometimes stallions and mares experience repeated puberty, but if you never dealt with magic issues in your youth, the delay shouldn’t be occurring at all.”

Leviathan was frustrated, “There’s no cure you can provide? Not supplements or anything?”

Nurse Bluecross just shook her head, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. All I can do for Irradiance here is the bandage for his muzzle and a suggestion to speak to the Princess.”

The pair of stallions had wanted to ignore that option for as long as possible. Talking to Twilight about this meant admitting there was some issue beyond sickness ponies could handle alone. If no one knew what was wrong with Irradiance and his horn and his magic, it meant that this might have something to do with Luster Dawn or the Element Tree (or both!) and Irradiance would have no choice but to venture back into the Everfree Forest and hunt down the cause of the loss of his power.

“Thank you, Nurse Bluecross,” Irradiance sat up, excusing himself from the medical office, “We’ll speak with Princess Twilight.” Gesturing for his partner to follow, Irradiance exited and made his way toward the throne room, where Twilight would surely be.

“I can sense your nervousness,” Leviathan chimed, following the purple stallion closely. Irradiance groaned.

“I wanted to have a choice in whether we went back to the forest or not!” He exclaimed.

“You have a choice!”

“Not if the reason my magic is disappearing is because of Luster Dawn!” Irradiance turned quickly, halting his travels through the hall as he confronted the taller stallion. “If that’s the case then we have to go back into the forest! And I never got to choose!” He was frowning intensely.

Leviathan smiled softly, “Okay, well do you want to talk to Twilight?” Irradiance cocked his head, caught off guard at the question,

“Obviously I want to talk to Twilight! She was the Element of Magic! She’d know what’s wrong with me and my powers.”

Leviathan gestured with a hoof, “Well then there’s your choice! You want to talk to Twilight even though you know it might mean sending you into the forest. Subconsciously you’ve already made the choice, Irradiance. Don’t make yourself feel like someone’s forcing you into this.”

That was a surprisingly well-constructed analysis of the situation at hand. Or rather, at hoof. Irradiance had no words. He opened and closed his mouth a few times to respond, but decided to simply turn around and continue toward the throne room. Soon enough, he was upon two large golden double doors. Swinging them open with Leviathan’s magic (Irradiance didn’t trust his horn right now to open any doors), the pair entered only to find Twilight meeting with a familiar face.

“Amber?” Leviathan gawked, mouth agape as he saw his Dragon companion standing before Princess Twilight with a stressed look on her face.

“Hi, Leviathan,” The golden Dragon responded, waving simply, “Hi, Irradiance,” She greeted the other stallion, who sent a small wave back in response.

“Why is Amber here?” Leviathan asked the Alicorn, who twisted her mouth up before responding.

“She wanted to alert me of some issues happening near the Dragonlands,” Twilight said carefully, sending a glance at Amber, who got the hint and stepped toward her friends.

“There have been some issues in the forest surrounding the nest,” She started, resulting in a puzzled expression from the stallions before her. Amber continued, “My morning patrols have noticed some strange movement deep in the forest, and upon closer inspection, it seems there is some sort of creature haunting the trees that surround the area closest to Canterlot.”

Irradiance gasped, “Luster Dawn,” he breathed, looking up at Princess Twilight, who just nodded slowly. “But if she’s escaped, why isn’t she here? Didn’t you say she’d likely attack?”

Twilight shook her head, “I’m not sure. It’s possible that she was able to break out of the prison but lacks the magical ability since the Changelings have been feeding off of it for so long, and you’ve absorbed her power as well. I don’t doubt that she’ll regain her power soon, though.”

Leviathan made the connection quicker than Irradiance, “Your Highness, Irradiance has been dealing with issues regarding his magic. Is it possible that as Luster Dawn grows her magic, it’s sapping Irradiance’s power?”

“Yes!” Twilight exclaimed, wings flapping happily before she realized the implication and calmed herself with a cough, “Yes, that’s entirely likely,” Turning her eyes toward her student, Twilight looked upon the purple pony with concern, “How long have you been having issues, Irradiance?”

The stallion shook his head, “It just started happening this morning when I was with Leviathan, and again this afternoon in Canterlot.”

“We’ve only witnessed issues starting this morning,” Amber said, concern lining her expression. The golden Dragon looked between her two friends and then toward the princess. They were all on edge at what this might mean.

Twilight finally spoke after her long pause, “It is possible that your depletion in magic is related to the issues seen in the forest. In fact, as Luster Dawn becomes more powerful, she may be draining you of your magic, since it was hers to begin with!”

Irradiance scoffed and stamped a hoof, “That makes no sense! I was given additional magic when I touched that tree. At no point was I ever nonmagical before the incident when I was a colt!”

Twilight shook her head, clearly at a loss, “I’ve never witnessed this before. Element Tree magic is difficult to harness and the few ponies that have done it never lasted very long. There’s been almost no research on the subject at all, and the added fact that the tree you absorbed the magic from was the prison of an Alicorn?”

Leviathan finished the thought, “It’s unheard of, isn’t it?” Twilight nodded slowly, clearly sorrowful of the lack of a reason. She was one of the most studious ponies in Equestria prior to her coronation, and even now she was extremely well-versed on all topics concerning magic. If she lacked information surrounding this topic, Irradiance was out of luck. He huffed a sigh and lowered his head in defeat.

“I guess I’ll just have to find Luster Dawn in the Everfree Forest and see what she wants, huh?” He looked between the princess and his friends, who all had somber expressions on their faces, though Leviathan’s had traces of support in the sad smile. Irradiance always appreciated his positivity. Nodding in acceptance, the Unicorn puffed his chest out in mock confidence, “Let’s start preparing, then.”

Author's Note

short chapter sowwy :( but hey im writing what feels natural so if 1600 words is how it feels, 1600 words it shall be!

Chapter Five

Despite his distaste for the Everfree Forest, Leviathan took the lead, safely escorting his partner and their friends through the path as they all began their descent into darkness.

“Lev, do your patrols ever go out this far?” Cobalt asked, sticking close to Hibiscus. Something felt… off in the forest. It didn’t feel like the last time they’d been here and met Irradiance. Now it felt like someone was watching them.

The Changeling shook his head, “We patrol the borders of the hive, closer to where we found Marigold. Amber’s patrols don’t pass more than a few hundred feet away from her nest’s perimeter. This part of the forest is only known to ponies that venture within.”

Irradiance looked around, suddenly paranoid at the lack of knowledge he now possessed about his previous home. He was grateful to be the student of the princess, don’t get him wrong! But still. He’d made such a life for himself out here and sure, maybe it was lonely. But it was his life! “Something isn’t right,” He said as the ponies continued their trek. The forest was nearly pitch black. Irradiance illuminated his horn, purple magic flickering in the darkness. Hibiscus followed suit, purple magic lighting up, and Leviathan led with his red magic illuminating the forest above.

“You’re telling me!” Marigold squeaked, walking closely to the group. “I’ve lived here for years and never have I felt the spirits of the trees feel so… on edge.”

Irradiance felt a shiver travel through his frame. Marigold was a descendant of ponies extremely in tune with nature. If she felt as though something was off then something truly wasn’t right. Irradiance’s magic flickered out in a spark of purple and green. Try as he might to bring it back, his ability to light his friends’ path had evaporated.

“Hey, it’s alright!” Leviathan sensed the embarrassment and sadness that was taking over the Unicorn’s mood. “We’ll find Luster Dawn and we’ll fix the issue and get your magic back. Don’t worry, Irradiance,” He laid a peck on the Unicorn’s cheek.

“Thanks, Leviathan,” Irradiance smiled. He was right. They just had to find the Element Tree and they’d find Luster Dawn and they’d defeat her, no problem.

Amber finally spoke up, no longer tailing the group in silence. She was quite protective in her role as Dragon Lord. Irradiance supposed it applied to her close friends as well, “How far into the forest is this tree supposed to be?” She raised an eyebrow, red eyes gleaming only slightly in the low light of the creatures’ magic auras.

“When we found Irradiance it was only a few hundred paces in!” Hibiscus assured. She ran ahead a bit, looking forward into the darkness where the tree had once been located. “There!” She pointed with a pink hoof, rushing over to the spot where Irradiance had been cursed so many years ago.

Cobalt furrowed his brow, looking at the others in confusion, “Hey, Hibiscus, are you sure this is it?” The pink Unicorn turned in befuddlement.

“Of course it is! I remember meeting Irradiance right here!” She stamped a hoof on the dirt. Her friends shared an uneasy look. Irradiance felt his stomach drop as he realized what was wrong.

“Hibiscus,” Marigold breathed, “There’s no tree there.”

“What?” The Unicorn gasped, turning around to see that now, in place of what was once an Element Tree, lived a dark shadow, intangible. It was tricky to realize it wasn’t a real tree from a distance, but now the group had neared the obstruction, it was clear this was simply an illusion. Irradiance raced forward and swatted at the shadow with a crystalline hoof and with a whisper of wind, the black shadow disappeared into smoke, leaving nothing but a crater in its wake. The Element Tree was gone. Luster Dawn wasn’t here.

“Oh, no,” Cobalt muttered, shuffling his hooves. “What do we do now, Irradiance?” All the ponies and creatures turned toward the purple stallion, staring with concern and uncertainty.

“I, uh,” He stuttered, looking around and feeling panic start to take hold of him. Heart beating quicker, legs feeling weak, he looked to Leviathan for assistance. The Changeling quickly came to his aid, allowing Irradiance to lean against him as he tried to calm himself.

“We can figure it out in a minute, okay?” Leviathan addressed the group, concern on all of their faces as they watched their dear friend begin to spiral.

Before anyone else could speak, a sudden breeze overtook the forest, wiping out Leviathan and Hibiscus’s magic as if their horns were mere candles lighting the darkness. Shock overtook the concern each creature felt and they all fell into a silence as they waited to see what would happen next in the forest.

“Foolish ponies…” A deep, feminine voice seemed to come from every direction. The darkness of the forest began to shift to a purple light that surrounded the group. Wind blew from every direction as though a storm was about to break.

“What’s happening?” Marigold cried, wind whipping her hair around her head, braided tail flying. Irradiance watched as Amber, Cobalt, and Leviathan all had to steady their wings as the wind abused them. It seemed to grow stronger with every moment.

The voice chuckled, and a glow began to emanate from where the tree once stood. Orange irises stared down the group of creatures, purple magic flowing from them in ribbons, “Foolish, foolish ponies!” The wind suddenly ceased and branches dropped to the ground, bushes, and leaves shaking violently at the shift in motion so quickly. “You believe that you will find my prison so quickly? I would never allow it!”

“It’s Luster Dawn!” Irradiance hissed, eyes wide in what he could only describe as fear. The eyes slowly rose higher, connecting to the silhouette of a tall, angry Alicorn.

“Indeed, Unicorn,” The silhouette stepped forward toward Irradiance and his friends, looking down on them, “I am the banished princess that Twilight Sparkle dared not mention again,” She spat the name as if it were poison,
“With every moment that I am able to return to Equestria in a physical form, with every moment that you search for me, I grow stronger. Soon my magic will be restored and I will take over Equestria, just as I was meant to!”

“You were never meant to take over Equestria!” Hibiscus shouted at the figure that must have been what Luster Dawn had become after her coronation… her coat was maroon and her hair was a flaming purple. Her wings were large and flapped violently as she spoke, emphasizing her emotion. Irradiance was frozen in shock and fear.

Luster Dawn sneered at the pink Unicorn, flaring her nostrils in irritation, “You think you understand what Twilight’s method of teaching taught me? She imbued the importance of magic, of how I learn every detail for when I may take over! Never did she say I would get no time to myself!

“Why train to earn these wings if a pony will only ever be second best? I made friends! I played by the rules!” Luster Dawn began to illuminate her horn, turning the dark forest setting into a violently bright pocket of woodlands. In a burst of light, Luster Dawn’s silhouette had vanished. With another whisper of wind, her voice spoke to the group once more: “You shall not find me, ponies! I will regain my magic and I will return to Equestria as the rightful ruler!” With a chilling cackle of laughter, Luster Dawn was completely gone, wind ceasing once more, leaving the ponies in plain darkness with a crater of where the Element Tree once lay left to be stared at once more.

The group of creatures were left with wide eyes and open mouths as they took in the reality of what they’d just witnessed. Luster Dawn, clearly villainized, had truly returned. She was stealing Irradiance’s magic through the Element Tree and she had intentions to rule over Equestria, possibly harming Princess Twilight in the process!

“So, what do we do now?” Cobalt looked around at the others, lost. The tree had disappeared and no one had any idea where it might be. Irradiance steadied himself, taking a deep breath and pushing his ears back as he considered the next plan.

“Okay,” He started, looking around. “Okay, so we travel further into the forest!”

“Where?” Amber interjected, waving her hands toward the entirety of the forest. “We’ve ventured through most of it. You traveled through it all to find the hive. Where would Luster Dawn be hiding?” The Dragon meant no harm; she was being realistic. Irradiance still felt a pit forming in his stomach at the reminder, though.

“Maybe she’s hiding in plain sight!” Marigold suggested, perking up. She did a small lap, looking around at potential hiding places.

“Like where?” Cobalt asked, eyebrow raised as he ruffled his feathered wings, still mussed from the sudden and abrupt start and end to the bursts of wind that Luster Dawn had brought upon the group.

Irradiance felt a light go off above his head, “Like the castle!” Leviathan turned to his partner, confused visibly.

“Where?” He asked, red eyes squinted. Irradiance began stepping deeper into the forest, taking the route he’d taken once before.

“The castle! It’s the ancient castle where the old princesses, Celestia and Luna, once lived! Maybe she’s there!” Irradiance took off, his friends following closely behind. Hibiscus and Leviathan once more lit up their horns, guiding the others who were unable to use magic. Irradiance tried his once more but to no avail. He felt the magic within him slowly depleting further and further. He would have to stop Luster Dawn sooner rather than later.

As he approached the ancient castle, Irradiance realized that it no longer looked the same. The grey cobblestone was now covered in spiky, black tendrils. It covered the Element Tree that had cursed him, its branches all covering shattered crystal. Those must have been the elements, Irradiance thought to himself, recalling what he’d learned so long ago.

“She is here!” Leviathan cheered, grinning in awe. “How did you know this was the place?” He looked toward the purple stallion, who simply shrugged.

“Just a feeling. It’s such an obvious location that we were clearly going to search the entire forest before we came here. Marigold was smart to suggest the idea!” The yellow Earth Pony beamed.

“Okay,” Hibiscus started, “But what now? We’ve found the tree, but I don’t see Luster Dawn anywhere. How do we stop someone who isn’t here?”

There was a flicker in the tree that was inside the castle. Irradiance squinted, stepping forward and batting at it with a hoof. The sound of crystal hitting wood reverberated through the otherwise silent building. The creatures all stopped for a moment before the floor disappeared from under them.

“Irradiance!” Leviathan called out, terrified as he and Cobalt froze in fear, unable to catch the others as they all fell into the dark pit that had trapped them. The group of friends were terrified, screaming each other's names as they fell for what felt like hours, though it may have been only seconds. Amber didn’t seem to have fallen, been on guard, and caught herself in the air, levitating above all those that had succumbed to the sudden lack of ground.

“Amber! Help us!” Hibiscus called up, voice already hoarse after screaming so loud just moments prior.

“I’m coming! Don’t worry!” The golden Dragon leaped into action, aiming herself downward in order to catch all of the ponies, but just as quickly as the ground had disappeared, it reappeared once more, trapping the five ponies beneath the castle, and Amber above.

Author's Note

sorry for the hiatus :/ i got super stressed with work and school and blah blah blah.. currently posting and writing chapters from my APARTMENT in my DREAM SCHOOL!!! ENGINEERING STUDENT BAYBEEE!!!!

Chapter Six

Irradiance’s head was pounding. He blinked a few times, opening his eyes only to be met with near-complete darkness surrounding him. He tried to illuminate the area with his horn before remembering the issue he was facing, magic sparking out in green and purple flickers.

“Right…” He groaned, standing up slowly, moaning as he felt an ache overtake his body. Shaking off the dirt that had stuck to his coat after falling, the stallion took stock of what was around him. “Leviathan?” He called out, squinting into the darkness.

“...diance!” A voice called. Irradiance couldn’t place who it was, but he could hear. He turned his head to and from the noise, trying to see which direction he needed to walk to find it. In the darkness, the purple Unicorn recognized a series of tunnels in front of him, leading in six different directions. Taking a step toward one of the tunnels, Irradiance heard a sinister chuckle in the background of his mind. He stopped, hooves clacking on the ground.

“Who’s there?” He accused, steadying himself for a fight if an opponent came out of the darkness. A silhouette slowly grew before him, glowing purple with a grin splitting across its face. “Luster Dawn,” Irradiance hissed, stepping forward rather than back in an attempt to show confidence in his ability to fight (even if he had no magic to fight with).

“Foolish pony,” Luster Dawn spoke carefully, in her non-corporeal form, she swished around Irradiance, nearly tangible but not quite. It was like watching a ghost move. “You think finding me will be easy? Much less defeating me!” Luster Dawn let out a sinister chuckle, high-pitched and long. Irradiance pushed his ears back against his head to avoid being bombarded with the sound.

“I defeated Queen Lilith with ease. What makes you think defeating you will be any different?” Irradiance confidently remarked, trying not to shake under the intense gaze of the tall Alicorn. Luster Dawn puffed another laugh, walking toward the short Unicorn and tapping the tip of his horn.

“Because, silly pony,” Luster Dawn leaned down against Irradiance’s ear and whispered, “You have no magic,” With a sudden shiver, Irradiance felt the last dregs of magic slowly seep from his horn, collecting in Luster Dawn’s form, slowly making her more opaque. She sighed, closing her eyes in satisfaction.

Irradiance shook, falling to the ground as he felt dizziness overtake him. “What… what did you do?” He looked up at the Alicorn.

Luster Dawn grinned, “I took the rest of my magic! It shall take merely a day for it to fully absorb back into my body and then I shall be physical once more. From there I will take over Equestria, proving to that stupid princess that I am the rightful ruler!” Irradiance groaned in frustration, trying to stand up and falling down once more. Luster Dawn tutted, mock pity on her face.

“We’ll stop you!” Irradiance insisted, trying hard to regain his balance but the figure before him was suddenly a twin… No, a triplet.

“You will only stop me if you can find your friends. Farewell, fool. I look forward to making you one of my guards in my kingdom-to-be!” With another rush of wind through the underground system of tunnels, the Alicorn disappeared and Irradiance was alone once more.

It was about another hour (or, at least, what felt like an hour. Pure darkness was hard to tell time in) when Irradiance finally stood up, no longer weak and dizzy from having his magic drained. Without waiting to hear anything, the Unicorn chose a tunnel and began walking through it, searching for his friends.

“Leviathan?” He called out, squinting his eyes to try and see in the dark. “Marigold? Amber? Cobalt?” As he walked deeper into the tunnel, Irradiance saw a pink glow slowly glowing brighter the deeper he walked. Eyes widening, Irradiance sped up, “Hibiscus! Is that you?”

“Irradiance?” A small voice came from within. This was definitely Hibiscus! The purple stallion sped up, walking through the tunnel and finally managing to wind up in another small cavern, filled with creatures surrounding the pink Unicorn, who seemed fearful of everything around her.

“Hibiscus! Thank goodness I found you! I didn’t know where I was–”

A sob cut the stallion off, and he looked closer to see that Hibiscus had tears in her eyes. She wasn’t looking toward him either. She was looking down. Irradiance slowly approached the mare, trying to see what was causing her such sorrow.

Laying beneath the pink Unicorn was a rabbit, breathing unevenly, with a large slash against its side. Irradiance twisted his face up in uncomfort and sorrow. It was never fair to watch a creature suffer. “Hibiscus…”

The pink Unicorn pulled the small rabbit to her chest, curling around it. “It’s just a little thing. It wasn’t even the circle of life that caused this! It was her!” Hibiscus spat, clearly referring to Luster Dawn. Irradiance’s eyes widened. Villains were villains, sure, but harming innocent animals? That was another form of villainy entirely.

“Did you see any of the others?” Irradiance probed. Hibiscus shook her head, sniffling and shaking her mane as she did so. Irradiance sighed and resigned his inquisitiveness, choosing to sit beside his friend as she cuddled the small creature in its final moments.

“It didn’t deserve this. I would have loved you,” Hibiscus petted the rabbit carefully, soothing it to the best of her ability. “I would have given you treats every day and cuddled you every night. Who needs foals when you have pets, you know?” She joked tearfully, squeezing the rabbit tighter. It let out a small squeak, though Irradiance could swear it sounded more like a squeak of happiness rather than pain.

“We should start looking for the others, Hibiscus. Luster Dawn–”

“Shhh!” Hibiscus ignored her friend, choosing to rock the rabbit slowly in her arms as she hummed. “He needs to be sent off respectfully. If he had to die in pain at least we can comfort him into death.” The rabbit let out a few more squeaks before rolling in Hibiscus’ arms and halting suddenly, squeaks ceasing alongside his breath.

The pair was silent for a long time. Wiping away tears, Hibiscus slowly stood up, laying the rabbit down carefully against a nearby rock before smoothing its fur and saying something under her breath that Irradiance couldn’t hear.

“Luster Dawn is evil,” Hibiscus said aloud, not looking at Irradiance.

Brows furrowed in concern, Irradiance nodded before responding verbally, “I know. We’ll stop her, don’t worry.”

Hibiscus turned slowly, taking a deep breath before letting it out carefully. “You said you haven’t seen the others?” Irradiance shook his head, horn and hooves sparkling under Hibiscus’ magic. The pink Unicorn nodded in thought before looking around and recognizing the tunnels before her and behind her.

“We should keep moving forward. I woke up alone and walked through that tunnel,” Irradiance pointed behind him with his hoof, “And found you. Odds are that someone else is through the next tunnel.” Hibiscus nodded and began walking without another word. The purple stallion felt anxiety take over his body. If Hibiscus was stuck alone with a hurt animal thanks to Luster Dawn, what was everyone else alone with?

As the pair began their travel through the tunnel, Hibiscus spoke up, “You know, Luster Dawn is probably misunderstood.”

Irradiance scoffed, green eyes narrowing, “Didn’t you just say she was evil?” The pink Unicorn grimaced and nodded.

“Yes… but I was angry. Ponies do things all the time and while hurting animals is a telltale sign of a psychopath, Luster Dawn couldn’t possibly have started out like that. The old textbooks… she wasn’t always like this? Was she?”

Irradiance supposed Hibiscus was right. No pony was born evil, were they? Things happened that made ponies the way they were now. Irradiance wouldn’t have left his home and became rude toward new friends had he not been hurt as a young foal. “You’re right. She does bad things but maybe she’s not bad on her own. Maybe once we defeat her she’ll return to being normal, like Princess Luna did.” It was optimism without knowing any of the facts, but the pair were fine with the assumption. Better to assume the best rather than the worst, right?

Eventually, the tunnel gave way to yet another cavern. Irradiance scanned the new environment before realizing… “Hey, this is where I just was!”

“What?”

“Yeah!” Irradiance looked at the several tunnels he’d been facing initially, where Luster Dawn had stood, and spoke to him with that threatening tone. “I just went down that tunnel,” He pointed forward, gesturing to the tunnel in which he’d just found Hibiscus.

The pink Unicorn stepped forward, looking inside of the tunnel before the rock structure crumbled, closing off the entryway.

“Looks like we can’t go back through there,” Hibiscus and Irradiance shared an uneasy glance. “Thank Celestia we weren’t inside of it!” Irradiance nodded, eyes wide.

“Guess we should just start going in order, huh?” The purple stallion stepped away from the now-blocked entrance and walked toward the next one to the right. “Hopefully no one else deals with something traumatizing!”

Author's Note

and if the chapters are short you can sue me. i write how i deem correct. i think its fine.

Chapter Seven

As the pair of ponies made their way through the next tunnel, Irradiance could hear what sounded like conversation on the other side. Hibiscus and the other Unicorn shared a confused glance.

“Do you think everyone else is trapped together in the same room?” Irradiance asked, not quite believing the suggestion. Hibiscus shrugged, pink mane bouncing with the movement.

“No clue. It wouldn’t make sense, though. I feel like Luster Dawn tried to trap us down here to separate us and prevent us from defeating her. Wouldn’t make sense to put us together if that was the goal, would it?”

“No, I suppose not…” The purple stallion pursed his lips together, squinting in the light of Hibiscus’ magic as they approached the end of the tunnel, a green light emanating from within.

“Well, how did you even get in here, then?” A mare asked, her voice sounding almost upset.

“I told you,” Irradiance recognized the voice instantly, “We fell! My friends and I walked into this castle when the floor disappeared from under us!”

“Leviathan?” Hibiscus cut off the ponies speaking, causing all heads to turn in her direction. Irradiance noticed there were two ponies, an orange and a purple one (the purple one had the green magic. A strangely similar color scheme to himself!) both looking ragged and tired. Between them was a green Pegasus who looked frightened.

“Irradiance! Hibiscus!” Leviathan, presently in his pony form, rushed over to the Unicorns and embraced them, exhaling in relief. “I am so glad you two are here. I had no idea if we were all here together or what!”

“How convenient you just happen to know other ponies here, isn’t it, Topaz?” The purple Unicorn spoke, eyes narrowed in skepticism. Irradiance had a bad feeling about this confrontation. “It’s almost as if you’re trying to trick us into believing you’ve been here this whole time!”

Leviathan turned around with confusion splayed all across his face. He ruffled his wings as he looked between the two ponies, “What? I told you we fell from above the cave! I have no idea where we are!”

“Likely story,” Topaz spoke this time, orange coat covered in dirt and dust. Had these ponies been living here in the caves? Irradiance didn’t bother asking. He didn’t want to chat with these ponies very long. “The last time we had a newcomer… oooh I don't even want to think about the last time!”

The purple pony tutted, walking up around the trio, looking Leviathan up and down closely, “He was a Changeling, you know. A filthy thing that tried to trick us into falling in love with it!”

“Oh, please,” Hibiscus rolled her eyes, waving a hoof at the accusation. “A Changeling came down here just to feed on two ponies? Yeah right!”

“It’s true!” Topaz insisted. “He transformed into this wonderful blue Pegasus and nearly seduced Amethyst! Had I not realized the shimmer in his eyes was suspicious he would have drained us both!”

Amethyst shut his eyes and shook his head, seemingly reminiscing about the event, “That’s why we can’t trust anyone else down here anymore. We’re not too willing to put our lives in the hooves of strangers in case you, too, might be one of those…” He shivered exaggeratedly, “Changelings.”

Irradiance stomped a hoof on the ground, causing a clack sound to echo in the small cavern, “You’ve got it all wrong. How long have you two even been down here?”

Topaz and Amethyst shared a glance, “Years? We stopped counting pretty soon after we moved down here a while back.”

“Why’d you even move down here? I thought you fell, too!” Hibiscus probed. The stallions rolled their eyes.

“Questions, questions, questions! How about we ask you something, hm?” Amethyst came close this time, getting almost right against Leviathan’s muzzle. “Are you a Changeling? You seemed antsy when we brought up the possibility.”

Irradiance, Hibiscus, and Leviathan were quiet. Clearly, these ponies didn’t trust Changelings, but being silent this long was already suspicious. Irradiance decided to stall. Stepping forward, he spoke first.

“Don’t you know Equestria likes Changelings now? I mean, haven’t you heard of King Thorax?” The stallions shook their heads.

“No clue who that is. I only know of that disgusting Queen Lilith.”

Topaz nodded alongside his partner, speaking next, “She drained too many of our townsfolk of their magic… they’ve gotta go extinct.”

“But you said the Changeling that came down here fed off of love, not magic,” Hibiscus recalled, catching the ponies in a conflict of facts. There was a pause and Irradiance could have sworn he watched one of the two stallions flicker, like a hologram.

“Too many hives to keep track of. Magic, love, what’s next, life itself?” Amethyst waved off the mix-up with a hoof. “You never answered our question though. Avoiding the subject, are we?” He raised an eyebrow and came closer to Irradiance, moving suddenly as though he were about to attack, causing the Unicorn to flinch and step back, fearful of what he might fall victim to.

“Damn,” Topaz cursed, “He’s not a Changeling. Sudden movements usually get them to change their forms.”

“Way to give the plan away!” Amethyst hissed, rolling his eyes. “Hand me the sharp rock, maybe hurting this one will make the others admit they’re lying!” Irradiance inhaled sharply and stepped closer to Leviathan, who had already extended a wing to pull his lover closer in comfort.

“Woah!” The threat caught Leviathan off guard and immediately threw him into a more protective stance, “We’re not going to hurt anyone, okay?” Leviathan said, now acting as a barrier between Irradiance and the ponies, “I’m just trying to find the rest of my friends. And even if I was a Changeling, so what?”

“Lev–” Irradiance put a hoof up as he recognized a buzzing start to hum underneath the green Pegasus’ coat, The stallion shushed the shorter with a knowing look. It was a dangerous game, transforming right after a threat like that.

“I’ve got it, don’t worry,” Leviathan reassured, before taking a step forward and transforming into his normal self. The pair of stallions gasped before shouting curses at the prince.

“You are one of them!”

“You monster!”

Though there had been mention of a weapon, no evidence of truth behind the threat came about. Hibiscus stepped up, brows furrowed in irritation, “Shut up, both of you! Leviathan is no less pony than we are!”

“He’s a bloodhungry beast!” Topaz pointed, though it didn’t seem like either was trying to attack the sudden “threat” they were now faced with.

“I am no such thing!” Leviathan angrily countered. “I fought to change my hive for the better, actually, now that Lilith is gone!”

There was a beat of silence. Topaz and Amethyst flickered again, this time it was more obvious and all three of the ponies saw it. Irradiance stepped closer.

“You’re not scared of him at all, are you?” Topaz asked, looking right at Irradiance, who just shook his head slowly, still stepping toward the stallion. Topaz stared blankly, “You’ll regret it.”

“Oh, shut up,” Irradiance swatted at the pony with a hoof and with a POOF! He was gone. Dissolved into thin air just as the tree illusion had earlier.

“Woah!” Hibiscus ran up toward the mist that was now leaving through the tunnel exit, looking between it and back to Irradiance. “How did you know he wasn’t actually real?”

The stallion chuckled before responding, green eyes flickering around the cavern, “Lucky guess, maybe? I saw him, like, flicker in and out–”

“I saw that too,” Leviathan verified, nodding along.

“-and I figured they must not be real. I mean, what are the odds ponies were already down here where we wound up? And living here? Come on.”

“Hey, you lived in the forest for a decade!” Hibiscus defended, which was met with dismissal from the other Unicorn.

“Yeah, in a forest with tons of nutrients, resources, and food! This is a cavern made of rocks. There’s like, water here. Not much else.”

The trio looked around, taking in their surroundings before resigning and deciding to continue through the tunnels together. Irradiance stuck close to Leviathan and Hibiscus led the way, not wanting to third wheel, but understanding the couple would want a minute with just each other.

Leviathan pressed a quick kiss to the purple stallion’s forehead, smiling, “I’m glad you’re okay. I wasn’t sure if I’d find you all that fast once we fell down here.”

Irradiance pressed closer against the Changeling, enjoying the comfort, “I actually found you, so…”

“Oh, whatever!” Leviathan laughed, and Irradiance laughed along with him. It was nice giving into the urge to flirt and have physical contact on this adventure after wanting it so bad the last.

“So, Leviathan!” Hibiscus chimed from in front of the lovebirds, “Do you have any idea how to get out yet?” The Changeling shook his head, looking all around as the trio exited the tunnel and once more returned to the large cave that Irradiance had awoken in. There were three tunnels before him, one blocked off with boulders, and the others open for exploration.

“How did you two know how to find me?” He asked, cocking his head to the side and fluttering his wings beneath their sheath.

“Lucky guess,” Irradiance admitted. “I went through the first tunnel and found Hibiscus, you just happened to be in the next tunnel. No clue who we might find next.”

At the end of his admission, there was a rumbling sound, and soon enough Leviathan’s tunnel was blocked off with rocks as well.

“Woah!” The Changeling flew into the air for a minute in shock of the sudden minor earthquake, but the Unicorns just stood, unimpressed.

“That happened to mine, too,” Hibiscus said simply, walking up to the remaining two tunnel entrances. “Should we keep going in order or should we go random?”

Irradiance shrugged, looking to his partner for input, “What do you think?” Green and red eyes met for a moment before Leviathan turned to the tunnels with determination on his face.

“In order, I think. Who’s to say Luster Dawn didn’t curse them to cause something back to happen if we don’t go in order?”

Hibiscus hummed, “Ooh, good point!”

Irradiance smiled humorously, “Okay, sure. Curse or no curse, we’ll get them all done eventually. At least nothing’s been too hard to handle, you know?”

Walking up to it, Irradiance poked his head in to see if there was any light coming from within the tunnel, but there was nothing. Though he knew nothing would happen, Irradiance attempted to light his horn. Not a single spark flew from it. Leviathan walked up to the Unicorn.

“I thought you still had some magic left,” He recalled, “I thought it was just extremely weak!”

Irradiance shook his head slowly. “When I woke up, Luster Dawn drained the rest of my magic from me. I think she’s trying to stall so she can gain physical form and take over before we can get out.” Leviathan’s red eyes widened and he looked down the tunnel, fear in his eyes.

“Then let’s go! We should hurry up before Luster Dawn can get any more powerful or hurt anyone else!”

Hibiscus ran ahead of the pair of stallions, “Fine with me. Maybe I’ll find Cobalt next and I won’t have to third wheel on this romance mission anymore!” Humor was highly welcome in a stressful scenario like this.

Without another word, the three ponies started the trek down the next tunnel, hoping they wouldn’t find the next of their friends before something terrible happened.

Author's Note

erm. short chapter :/ ill try to write longer chapters after this o nee

Chapter Eight

Leviathan illuminated the path through the tunnel alongside Hibiscus, causing the glow coming from the pair of ponies to be a pinkish-reddish hue mixed together. Irradiance felt his heart sink as he once more considered that he may not regain his entire magic ability.

Would Luster Dawn regain all of her magic ability and… what, destroy Equestria with it? No, no. She wanted to rule. She’d imprison Twilight and the rest of Irradiance’s friends and from there she’d become a tyrannical ruler.

Irradiance shivered at the thought. Nightmare Moon, from many many years ago, had been in the same situation. Jealous of her sister, angry she wasn’t valued, planning to take over the entire country as a solution. Luster Dawn was misunderstood. Hibiscus understood that. Even after hurting that poor rabbit (was it even real? Or was it a hologram, like those ponies?) Luster Dawn was presumed misguided by the pink Unicorn.

That was an impressive feat, Irradiance considered, hooves clicking along the stone of the tunnel. He had instantly assumed Luster Dawn was simply evil, but the process of assuming innocence? Of containing enough empathy within to consider that even evil creatures are simply misunderstood? That was something he admired. Hibiscus was truly a good character, through and through.

“Hello?” A voice came from the end of the tunnel. Everyone’s heads perked up at the noise. “Irradiance? Is that you?”

The purple stallion stepped quickly through and made his way out toward the end of the tunnel, greeting Cobalt in the small cavern. He looked disturbed, feathers ruffled and hair messy. Hibiscus quickly ran through as well, embracing her friend in a tight hug.

“Oh, Cobalt! Thank Celestia you’re alright!” The pink Unicorn sighed into his coat, the blue Pegasus’ arms wrapping around her smaller frame.

Cobalt chuckled lightly, “Why wouldn’t I be okay?” He looked to the other two stallions who had uneasy looks on their faces, “What happened to you guys?”

Irradiance and Leviathan shared an uneasy look, and Hibiscus pulled away before she answered for the trio, “Luster Dawn seems to be pulling some mean tricks on us all.”

“She created fake ponies that threatened Irradiance!” Leviathan spat, stomping a hoof in frustration. Cobalt’s eyes drifted to the shorter stallion, who just nodded and shuffled his hooves uneasily.

“Are you serious?” Cobalt gawked, to which Irradiance responded with yet another nod. The Pegasus shook his head in disbelief, shuffling his wings before pacing the floor.

“That’s insane. Why would a pony ever do this?” Cobalt was a bit of a bonehead, but he wasn’t stupid. “Scaring us all? Like that’s going to make us want to defeat her less!”

“Exactly!” Hibiscus quickly agreed, looking to the others expectantly. “We need to keep going and find Marigold, and then we can escape out of this place.”

The now four ponies took stock of their surroundings, looking to see if there was some opponent within the room, like with Leviathan. Or if there was some other stressor, like with Hibiscus. Nothing of the sort was present, however, which left Irradiance feeling uneasy. It couldn’t be as simple as fetching Cobalt and continuing, could it?

“So do we just leave out of that tunnel?” Cobalt pointed with a hoof toward the tunnel at the other end of the cavern. Irradiance and the others shrugged, sure this must be a trap but with no evidence of Luster Dawn present, they weren’t entirely sure what else to do.

“Why not?” Hibiscus asked, beginning her walk over. “The worst thing that happens is we walk out, right?”

“Or the rocks crumble and kill us all,” Leviathan provided unhelpfully. Irradiance delivered a quick smack to the Changeling’s arm. “Ouch!”

“Why would you even suggest that? Be positive!” Irradiance huffed, flaring his nostrils and walking alongside Hibiscus to the exit. Leviathan followed suit, and Cobalt brought up the rear.

“Maybe we just got lucky with Cobalt’s trial!”

“Is that what we’re calling them?” Irradiance raised an eyebrow at the pink Unicorn. Hibiscus shook her head.

“It felt like the right word, was all.”

There was a rumble that started to emanate from within the tunnel and before Cobalt could continue his steps, rocks crumbled between the blue Pegasus and his companions.

“Cobalt!” Hibiscus cried, watching the event unfold but unable to do anything about it. Purple eyes met amber before boulders blocked any ability of sight.

Cobalt was alone and he wasn’t sure what to do. Hibiscus had been with him since they were foals and Irradiance and the rest of them had been with him ever since they’d met in the forest!

“Hibiscus?” The Pegasus tried, voice wavering nervously. He heard nothing behind the boulders before him. “Lev? Anyone?” No response. Cobalt was alone. He stepped away from the barrier and looked around the cavern again. The initial entrance his friends had come in was blocked off, too. Had that just happened?

There was a whisper of wind that swept through the cavern all of a sudden and Cobalt felt a sense of dread overtake his body, goosebumps raising beneath his blue coat. He ruffled his wings in anxiety before turning to search for where the wind was originating from.

“Hello? Who’s there?” He called out. Once more, there was no response. Foolish to think there was another pony in here. Everyone had just been blocked out! Cobalt shook his head, trying to find the humor in the situation.

Searching around, Cobalt tried to consider ways to get out. He wasn’t weak by any means and he had the capability to move these rocks one by one if he really needed to (though it would be a hassle without magic). He had wings so if anything scary showed up he could fly up and avoid it (though there was only about 10 feet of airspace to work with). Cobalt let out a deep sigh and sat for a minute, trying to relax before he took action.

“You want to escape, don’t you?” There was a whisper that suddenly sounded from behind the Pegasus, and he was on his feet in no time to confront the pony speaking. Turning violently, Cobalt was met with a deep magenta Alicorn with a flaming purple mane, dressed in golden armor. Orange irises stared deep within his own golden.

“Luster Dawn…” Cobalt managed, fear filling his body. He was strong, sure, but he was a bit of a scaredy cat if he was being honest. Alone with the villain that they were attempting to defeat? Cobalt wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take her on his own.

Luster Dawn stood up straight, rolling her eyes, “What a foolish name. Breaking Dawn fits far better, don’t you agree?” Cobalt didn’t move. Luster Dawn– Breaking Dawn cackled. “You silly ponies and your inability to respond. Let me ask again: you want to escape, don’t you?”

Staring, mouth agape, Cobalt managed a short nod of his head, never looking away from the mare before him. Breaking Dawn sneered, a devilish look in her eyes, scheming.

“Of course. I can offer you a way out, you know.”

That got the Pegasus. “You can?” He managed, looking up in what could be described as awe. Breaking Dawn nodded simply.

“There’s just… one condition,” Cobalt cocked his head, waiting for the rest of the offer. Breaking Dawn narrowed her eyes and continued, “You’d be the only one that gets out. Your friends would remain here until I regain my power, and then I might let them out.”

“What!” Cobalt stepped back, eyes blown wide. “Absolutely not! I can’t leave my friends here!”

Breaking Dawn tutted, pacing the room for a moment, her form not quite fully opaque. “I can’t sway you, pony. But trust me when I say this cave system is difficult to escape. Why do you think the castle was built above it?” Cobalt was silent. “As a dungeon for insubordinate citizens, of course! Celestia and Luna couldn’t control them all so this was where they sent the ones that didn’t listen!”

“Celestia and Luna were good rulers,” Cobalt defended, shaking his head. Breaking Dawn cackled.

“There are no good rulers, you ingrate. Only those who weaponize power and those who fail to recognize the power they truly wield. If you aren’t careful with who you surround yourself with I’m sure you’ll witness one of the two endings soon enough… that purple pony once carried some powerful magic within his veins…”

Cobalt felt his stomach twist, “You took his magic, didn’t you?” He watched as purple and green swirled around the Alicorn’s horn, a similar color as that of Irradiance’s. She just smiled darkly.

“My offer stands, blue pony. Accept escape now and leave your friends, or be trapped here forever.” She emphasized the last word with a step forward, magic sparking. Cobalt flinched.

The pair stood in silence for a beat but it felt like ages. It was devastating knowing that Cobalt had the option to escape but in doing so he would doom his friends. He licked his lips and ruffled his wings before looking at Breaking Dawn confidently.

“You can’t force me to betray my friends, Luster Dawn. You might not believe in the power of friendship but I’ve seen what it can do.” Breaking Dawn sneered at the refusal of her offer.

“You’ll regret this, foolish pony,” Her form began to shift, fading out as the sound of rocks moving sounded from the cavern’s exit. Cobalt turned to see hints of red and purple magic shining through the boulders blocking his path. “Friendship is the path to failure in all senses. Twilight Sparkle will learn that soon enough.”

“...alt! Cobalt!” The Pegasus heard his friends calling behind the wall of rocks and he no longer cared for what Luster Dawn had to say. As she faded out into mist, Cobalt failed to see the light illuminating the path to an exit he hadn’t yet noticed.

“Hibiscus? Lev? Irradiance?” Cobalt cried, running to the tunnel exit once more, pulling rocks away with his bare hooves. “Can you guys hear me?” He shouted, trying to hear more from beyond the barrier.

No answer. Cobalt pried the rocks away with more vigor, knocking them to the ground and cutting his hoof as he nicked it on the sharp edge of one of the rocks. Feeling as though the barrier would never end, purple magic shone upon the Pegasus’ face and he was met with Hibiscus staring back at him with a nervous expression.

“Cobalt!” She exclaimed, reaching through the rubble and pulling Cobalt through with the help of her and Leviathan’s magic.

“We were worried you might have gotten seriously hurt!” Leviathan expressed, eyebrows scrunched and stance unsteady. Cobalt smiled in thanks as he hugged Hibiscus tightly.

“No chance! I’m the strongest one here!” He went to set his hoof on the ground and hissed as the cut made contact with the bare stone. Irradiance and Hibiscus looked to his hoof to see blood beading.

“Cobalt!” Hibiscus chimed, raising his hoof with her magic, “You’re hurt!”

“Here,” Irradiance reached into his saddlebag and grabbed a potion, likely for healing if Cobalt had to guess. Both by the context of their situation and its color. He’d become used to his Unicorn friends’ potions by now. Irradiance poured the potion on Cobalt’s hoof and quickly bandaged it before letting go and smiling unsteadily. “Feeling any better?”

Cobalt nodded, “Thank you.”

The four ponies stood there for another moment, taking in the safe situation they were all now in. Why did everything have to be so nerve-wracking when they were together?

“What happened in there?” Leviathan asked, red eyes inquisitive. Cobalt’s eyes flickered between his friends before he sighed.

“Luster Dawn showed up,” Irradiance gasped, holding a crystalline hoof to his mouth. Cobalt nodded, “She offered me a way out.”

“Did you take it?” Hibiscus breathed, eyes wide. The Pegasus shook his head, almost appalled she’d asked that!

“No way! Luster Dawn said if I took the offer then I’d have to leave you guys down here forever!”

“Okay,” Irradiance let out a laugh, “We wouldn’t be down here forever. We’re not stupid. I defeated Queen Lilith, for Celestia’s sake!”

Cobalt shrugged, “She said this place was meant to be a dungeon back in Celestia and Luna’s reign. Like, way back when they were super young. That’s why the castle was built above all the caves! So prisoners couldn’t escape and the princesses could keep an eye on them.”

“That’s ridiculous. If there was a way in there’s definitely a way out. The Crystal Empire has one of these cave systems, too, and Princess Cadence escaped that, didn’t she?” Irradiance looked to his friends for confirmation, who all nodded in agreement.

“I dunno. I know we’ll get out. Luster Dawn just freaks me out!” Cobalt shuddered exageratedly at the mention of the Alicorn. Hibiscus let out a small laugh.

“We should get going, then. Avoid coming across her again before we’re all reunited.”

Leviathan turned to the pink Unicorn, looking at her with concern in his eyes, “Do you think Amber’s alright up in the castle, still?” Cobalt had almost forgotten about their Dragon friend.

“Definitely,” Irradiance cut in. “She’s the Dragon Lord, Leviathan! She can take care of herself for a little while. I’m sure she’ll find her way down here soon enough to get back to you.”

“Friendship conquers all, huh?” Cobalt quirked his mouth in a half smile. The others all let out a light laugh. Irradiance began walking back through the tunnel, toward the main cave, if Cobalt had to guess.

The four ponies made their way through the tunnel, Leviathan and Hibiscus following Irradiance closely, illuminating the path with red and purple magic. Cobalt felt his stomach turn, remembering that Irradiance was still magic-less. Hopefully, once this was all over he’d regain that power. It was one of the things that had saved them all initially. If it was gone… Cobalt swallowed. He didn’t want to think about how Irradiance would react. The poor stallion had been through enough already.

“One tunnel to go!” Hibiscus called from in front of the others, approaching the fourth tunnel entrance on the far wall, all the others blocked with boulders. Cobalt figured everyone had dealt with the same fate of the rocks falling after the ponies had exited their respective caverns.

“I hope Marigold is handling everything alright,” Leviathan manifested, staring straight ahead. Cobalt nodded along. Marigold was a sweet pony who had been through nearly as much as Irradiance. If they were all handling trials like his, the Pegasus worried Marigold would be in bad shape once they arrived in her cave.

“No waiting around to find out!” Irradiance exclaimed, rushing forward and making his way into the final tunnel, the other three ponies following suit, heads bowed forward as they ran toward their final trapped friend.

Author's Note

BAM! longer chapter! not suuuuper long, but longer than the last like. three.
ALSO how did we like the perspective from cobalt??? i try to focus this on irradiance bc he's my baby :3 but with how i wanted this chapter to go, the only way would be to isolate cobalt and only write his perspective. element and loyalty am i right. WOAH. spoiler orion!!! don't tell the readers about the elements! (although if you hadn't figured out that's where i was going yet, id be disappointed with my writing ability.)
i plan to extend this to 15 chapters like the last book, but idk well see. i have a word count goal rather than a chapter goal. the book is like maybe halfway through? the plot is all planned but not sure how ill write the ending.
okay bye!

Chapter Nine

For some reason, the final tunnel felt a hundred times longer of a distance to walk than any of the other tunnels Irradiance’s friends had been at the end of. Running through the tunnel, Irradiance swore it would take a mere minute to get to the end. But after nearly ten minutes of walking, the group was growing tired.

“Are we nearing the end yet?” Cobalt groaned, steps heavy and tired.

“I don’t see any form of light on the other side. Just more tunnel,” Leviathan responded, voice also tired. No one was very positive at this point of the adventure. Could they call it that, anymore? It felt more like a chore now. If Irradiance was a bad friend, he’d turn around and try to find an exit originating at the main cave.

They kept walking. Irradiance’s hooves clicked on the ground. In all other instances, the sound would be soothing, but Irradiance himself was growing annoyed at the repetitive stepping. It just reminded him of how long he’d been walking. There was no possible way this tunnel could be this long! Was there?

“MARIGOLD!” Hibiscus called out into the tunnel, causing all the others to cease their movement at the sudden shout. Hibiscus looked around at her friends, who were staring with wide eyes, “What? Maybe she can meet us in the middle!”

“What if she’s not even at the end of the tunnel?” Cobalt suggested.

“What in Celestia’s name are you talking about?” Irradiance gawked, smiling in disbelief. “Why even suggest that? We’ve been walking for so long! If she isn’t at the end of this tunnel…” The Unicorn felt his heart rate pick up. What if Marigold wasn’t down the tunnel? What if it was a trick to get the group to further separate and buy more time for Luster Dawn to gain power and attack Princess Twilight?

“Hey,” Leviathan walked up against Irradiance, tapping him on the side with a hoof, “Are you okay?” Irradiance sighed heavily, shaking his head.

“I wish we didn’t keep getting into situations like this. What are the odds that both times all of us are together, we wind up having to face a huge evil?”

Leviathan chuckled, shaking his head in response. “It’s kind of cool if you think about it,” He flicked his ears as the group approached a lower ceiling within the tunnel. Cobalt was lowering his entire head a few steps back from the pair of stallions. Hibiscus and Irradiance could walk comfortably, though.

“Why is it cool? I’d say it’s stressful more than anything!”

Leviathan tilted his head in consideration before speaking, “I mean, we’re all together. We’re all helping each other and none of us are alone for this. Imagine if you had to do this alone, Irradiance. Could you?” The purple stallion didn’t respond, diverting his eyes from Leviathan’s, who sighed, “I know I couldn’t. I’m glad you’re here. I’m sure Marigold is fine and once we reach her, you’ll feel better.”

Irradiance smiled gratefully at his partner’s comforts, looking forward again into the dark tunnel, no end in sight.

“Do you think Marigold managed to find a way out on her own?” Hibiscus considered, still following alongside the group. The ceiling was growing lower and lower as the ponies continued onward.

“I hope. I also hope that the cave she’s in has a normal ceiling!” Cobalt complained, nearly crawling at this point! He was by far the tallest in the group and he was struggling to keep following.

“Up… ahead!” Irradiance pointed, squinting his eyes into the area beyond where his friends’ horns were illuminating. “It looks like the tunnel is finally getting wider again!” He squeezed through, now walking side by side with Hibiscus, who seemed quite uncomfortable with the little space she had now.

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Cobalt gasped, trying to push forward. “I was starting to think I’d get stuck in here!”

With a few last shoves through the tunnel, the four ponies pushed through into the wider exit, which gave way to an extravagant cavern, lined with trees and other flora from ceiling to floor.

“Woah,” Irradiance whispered, stepping out into the few rays of light that came in through the ceiling. Out of every cavern, this was the most extravagant and most welcoming. The stallion could swear he could hear birds chirping in the cave, too!

“Marigold?” Leviathan called out, fluttering his wings, stretching them out now that he had more space to do so. He looked around, taking flight once he was far enough from the others, getting a view from above. “I don’t see her!”

“I’m here!” A sweet voice called from inside of a log, clearly a fallen tree that had once bloomed beautifully in the cave but was now wilted. Everyone had stopped searching and Leviathan had touched down once more. Out of the log stepped a familiar apricot-colored mare, smiling happily.

“Marigold!” Hibiscus rushed forward, embracing the other pony. “Oh, we were worried we wouldn’t find you!” Marigold chuckled, holding a hoof up to her mouth as she did.

“Sorry! I had fallen asleep in the tree waiting for help. The tunnel you guys came through wasn’t there earlier, I swear!” Marigold defended after getting a funny look. Cobalt nodded and came up to the mare, laying a hoof on her shoulder.

“I believe you, don’t worry,” The blue Pegasus winked exaggeratedly at the yellow mare, who rolled her eyes. A small laugh was shared among the group before reality sunk in once more.

“Have you guys seen Amber?” Marigold asked, hugs all finished. Leviathan shook his head, his red eyes sad, and his ears pressed back against his head.

“Didn’t you see her when we fell?” The Changeling reminded the mare, who shook her own head in response.

“I was closing my eyes! I was scared I’d fall down here and get really hurt!” Marigold tucked her legs close to herself as she recalled the start of this tiring venture beneath the Everfree Forest.

“Well, she’s stuck above the cave system. We won’t be able to see her again until we can get out of here,” Leviathan finished, looking around for where the beams of light were coming from. Irradiance sighed, eyes turning toward him now.

“You mean if we can get out,” The purple Unicorn remarked, seating himself on the stone floor, exhausted.

“Irradiance!” Marigold gasped, prancing over to her friend, “What do you mean if? You have to be positive!” The Earth Pony turned to look at the rest of the group, who all shared similarly downturned expressions. Tapping a hoof on the stone floor and flicking her tail in confusion, “Why are you all so upset? Haven’t you been looking for a way out, too?”

Cobalt shuffled his hooves for a moment before responding, “We’ve… kind of all been dealing with these, uh, trials, I think Irradiance called them?” The blue stallion looked to the latter for confirmation, who shrugged. Irradiance couldn’t remember everything he’d said. Cobalt continued, “I think Luster Dawn has been messing with all of us individually. Testing us or something. She offered me a way out–”

Hibiscus gaped, interrupting her friend, “She what?” The pink mare shook her head in disbelief, “Did you take the offer?”

Cobalt’s face twisted, “No way! She wanted me to leave you guys here! I’d never leave my friends!”

“Maybe you should have,” Irradiance snapped, now lying on the floor of the cave. Leviathan approached his partner carefully, concerned. Irradiance turned away from him. “I have no idea how to get out of here. Even if we take Marigold and walk down that next tunnel,” He pointed a crystalline hoof toward the next tunnel entrance, “Luster Dawn is probably waiting. She’ll probably stop us with some other stupid trial and we’ll be stuck down here even longer!” Irradiance began coughing on the last word, causing concern to emanate from all his friends at once.

“Irradiance!” Marigold rushed forward, placing a hoof on his forehead, “Oh, darling, you’re warm! Are you feeling alright?”

Leviathan shuffled his hooves, “He’s been totally drained of his magic,” the Changeling explained, to the others’ devastation, “It’s probably getting close to Luster Dawn’s final form. Actual pony form, that is.”

“We should hurry, then,” Hibiscus grabbed Irradiance’s saddlebag off of his back, lightening the load so Leviathan could carry him out of the tunnel on his own back, “Marigold, maybe you should help keep up the positivity, okay?” The yellow mare smiled warmly.

“Sure thing. I dreamed of a couple of nice things while I was in the tree, anyway. Probably my head trying to distract me from the terrible fate we’re all dealing with now!”

Ignoring all possibility of Luster Dawn showing up while they were in Marigold’s cave, the group of ponies began the walk out, exiting through the newly-appeared tunnel before rocks blocked it off once they exited.

“Woah!” Marigold remarked, flinching back as she watched the boulders roll and block the exit.

“That happens every time,” Cobalt assured. Marigold didn’t look comforted.

Leviathan stepped forward out into the main cave, looking around once more for another exit. “Irradiance, this is where you woke up, right?” The stallion nodded.

“Luster Dawn spoke to me here. She took my magic and basically said there was nothing I could do to stop her!” Irradiance exclaimed, voice hoarse. His horn lacked even the slightest spark as he tried once more to use his magic. Uneasy looks were shared by everyone present.

“It’s okay!” Marigold assured. She’d been such a positive influence thus far in the cave. “We just need to find her now, right?”

Irradiance nodded from atop Leviathan, “Yeah. She hid the Element Tree down here somewhere. We just need to find where it is.”

“Maybe it’s hidden in plain sight!” Marigold suggested for the second time. “Like where I was! Maybe she put the Element Tree under some sort of spell to camouflage it!”

“That’s a good idea, but…” Hibiscus looked back toward the blocked-off entrance. Marigold wilted only slightly.

“Oh. Right.”

There was a silence that fell over the small group. There weren’t a lot of options, now. The “hidden in plain sight” method lacked support, there was no visible exit to the next cave system, and Irradiance was weakening by the second. Luster Dawn was likely close to becoming truly corporeal and attacking Twilight in Equestria. A breeze swept through the central cavern, blowing the ponies’ manes.

“Brr,” Cobalt shivered, “Why’d it get cold in here all of a sudden?”

“Probably Luster Dawn about to make an appearance,” Irradiance said lamely, resting his head on Leviathan’s shoulder lamely. He was lacking energy and his friends hated to see him at a weak point like this.

“But Luster Dawn isn’t here. Why would the wind happen if she wasn’t appearing here?” Leviathan countered, looking around at the others. Silence struck once more before Marigold lit up.

“Because she’s somewhere else!”

“What?” Cobalt tilted his head, golden eyes narrowed, “Obviously she’s not here, Marigold. Otherwise, we’d see her!”

The yellow pony shook her head, stepping in front of the group, braided tail waving as the wind breezed through again. “No, no! I mean wind travels through open spaces, not closed ones. If the wind is coming through here it means there is an exit!”

The other three standing ponies started looking around, watching as their manes blew in the wind. “Check which direction it’s coming from!” Leviathan said quickly, looking at Hibiscus, who nodded. Summoning magic from her horn, she highlighted the wind within the cave, watching as the moving segment of air headed toward a wall of the cave.

“What?” Cobalt walked up against the wall, where the magic just… stopped. “But there’s no exit here!”

“Maybe you just need to tap it, or something!” Marigold suggested, shrugging from a distance. Cobalt made a funny face before holding out a large hoof and shoving it through the wall.

“WOAH!”

“Cobalt!” The other four ponies exclaimed, even Irradiance raising his head as the blue Pegasus disappeared from sight. Silence and then a response came from the other side of the wall.

“Hey! I found the exit!” Cobalt called. A joint sigh left the ponies’ mouths. “Come through the wall! It’s just an illusion!”

Marigold grinned, running to the wall and leaping through, quickly followed by Hibiscus. Leviathan turned his head to look at Irradiance, who had hope in his eyes.

“Do you want to walk through on your own, or do you still need the support?” The Changeling looked at his partner with a gentle look. Irradiance smiled, appreciative. Slowly, the purple Unicorn stepped off of the former’s back, laying shaky legs on the stone floor.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Irradiance assured, green mane falling in his face as he watched his feet, steadying himself. “If Luster Dawn is behind that wall I’d hate to look weak as we fight her.”

“Needing help isn’t admitting weakness, Irradiance,” Leviathan assured with a look at the Unicorn.

“Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean.” Irradiance waved off his partner with a dark hoof. The pair stood for a moment before stepping through the wall together, falling down a step and nearly losing their balance completely.

“Woah!” Leviathan exclaimed, catching himself in flight as Irradiance tripped and fell onto the hard stone floor.

“Ouch…” The Unicorn uttered, slowly pushing himself up.

“Sorry, Irradiance!” Hibiscus helped up her friend, purple magic surrounding him to gain his balance back. “I meant to catch you with my magic when you guys stepped through, but I got distracted.”

“Distracted?” Irradiance raised an eyebrow, “Distracted by what?” Hibiscus pointed behind her.

A figure descended from the top of the cave, flapping its wings threateningly as it landed before the small group of ponies.

“By this,” The figure was illuminated by the light emanating from the tree behind it.

“Amber!” Leviathan cried, looking forward to the Dragon Lord Amber herself, who had an uneasy expression on her face.

“Hi, Leviathan. Hey, Irradiance,” A wave was exchanged between the latter and Amber. “You guys have been looking for this, haven’t you?”

Turning to look behind the yellow Dragon, Irradiance gasped as he was met with the image of the item that had cursed him all those years ago: The Element Tree.

Author's Note

trying to make longer chapters!!!!! i have the end sort of planned out and then a third book also planned.... we'll see how it goes :)

Chapter Ten

“How did you get down here?” Irradiance questioned the Dragon Lord once his shock about the Element Tree had worn off.

“Yeah,” Leviathan agreed, stepping closer to his friend, “We’ve been down here for Celestia knows how long and we haven’t seen a single tunnel out of here!”

“There aren’t any tunnels into where you guys were,” Amber assured, red eyes glimmering as the Element Tree sparkled behind her. “I flew through Everfree for ages before I saw the entrance underneath that castle. I had no other option so I flew through and I wound up here not too long ago.”

“How long is ‘not too long ago?’” Hibiscus asked, head tilted to the side.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to tell time in here,” Amber looked around, likely for a hint about how long it had been since she’d arrived. “Less than an hour, maybe. It doesn’t feel that long.”

“Has Luster Dawn appeared at all?” Irradiance questioned, but Amber just shook her head. “But… the wind! That’s always what happens before she shows up!”

“Clever Unicorn. That’s a first,” There was a terrifying whisper that suddenly filled the cave. A purple smoke began to surround Amber and the Element Tree.

“Hey!” Amber cried, caught off guard by the mist that began to surround her. She flew out of the cloud of purple, landing beside the other ponies and Leviathan, wings spread in a protective stance.

The purple smoke slowly condensed, forming a tall figure within the mist. Sinister laughter came from within the smoke before it dispersed and before the group of ponies stood Luster Dawn, or rather, Breaking Dawn, as she’d insisted her name was.

“I see you ponies finally managed to find your tree,” Violet eyes squinted upon the group, magic caressing Irradiance’s face in a mocking gesture, “Look familiar?”

“Back off, Luster Dawn!” Irradiance snapped, angrily, stepping forward. “You don’t scare any of us. We’re here with the Element Tree and once we…” Irradiance trailed off suddenly. It occurred to him there was no concrete plan to fight off Luster Dawn. There was the idea that coming back to the Element Tree would yield some sort of result but Irradiance had no clue what that was. Did he need to destroy it?

Luster Dawn began cackling at the clear lack of idea that the ponies had floating through their heads. “Oh, you foolish ponies. Did you really come all this way without considering how to defeat me?”

“No, we know how to defeat you!” Hibiscus assured, clearly lying.

“Oh, do you?” Luster Dawn flew toward the pink Unicorn, purple smoky hair following her like a ghost. “And what’s that plan?”

“If we told you then there wouldn’t be much point in even trying, would there?” Cobalt scoffed. “Nice try, but that’s the oldest trick in the book. Obviously, we’re not going to tell you what we’re going to do!”

Irradiance felt his confidence depleting quickly. He tried to wrack his brain for any idea of how to defeat a villain like this but all he was coming up with were blanks!

“How did Celestia defeat Nightmare Moon?” Irradiance whispered to Leviathan, trying to come up with an idea. The Changeling Prince shrugged.

“I think it was Twilight and her friends that defeated Nightmare Moon, not Celestia,” Hibiscus responded, overhearing her friends consider what to do. “I studied friendship and everything. I feel like you guys forgot I’m qualified to teach at Twilight’s University of Friendship.”

There was a beat of silence and Irradiance cursed himself internally. Obviously, Hibiscus should know how to defeat Luster Dawn! She learned and is able to teach classes to other ponies– friendship might be the key to defeating Luster Dawn!

“Okay,” Irradiance turned to the mare, “How did Twilight do it?”

Hibiscus thought for a minute before responding, “She used the Elements of Harmony!” Her violet eyes widened as she remembered the legend. “She and the other Mane Six ponies were able to manifest each of the Elements within themselves, unlocking the sixth element, and defeating Nightmare Moon!”

Luster Dawn grabbed the ponies with her magic, ripping them apart from each other with an angry snarl.

“How dare you all try to plan here and now!” She hissed, holding Hibiscus up against her face, making direct eye contact. The pink mare swallowed, nervous about being caught by the Alicorn. “I am moments away from reaching my true power and returning to Equestria, and you think mentioning the ancient Elements will help you? Don’t you know those crystals were destroyed?”

Irradiance cursed to himself. Of course, their main option wasn’t available. This wasn’t even the same Element Tree, of course, but–

“We don’t need the Elements of Harmony to defeat you, anyway!” Irradiance shouted, distracting Luster Dawn from confronting Hibiscus. The Alicorn dropped the pink Unicorn and focused on the purple stallion.

“You won’t need any Elements, you foolish pony. You won’t be able to even attempt to defeat me!” Purple mist swirled angrily. Irradiance feigned confidence and stared down at the Alicorn sternly.

“The Elements of Harmony came from another Element Tree that’s long gone, but the spirit of the Elements is still here. Each tree contains its own Elements, too. I learned that years ago. Didn’t you, Luster Dawn?” The Alicorn said nothing but her angry expression didn’t falter. Irradiance continued, “The tree behind you is also an Element Tree and it contains its own Elements. In fact, I’ve already witnessed all of my friends manifest them here today!”

“Irradiance, what are you talking about?” Leviathan hissed from below the Unicorn.

Irradiance ignored him, continuing with the logic he was honestly making up as he went, “I watched Hibiscus display empathy when she considered that maybe you weren’t a terrible villain, but rather misunderstood!

“I watched Leviathan show honor when he admitted who he was to your illusions in order to protect the ponies he loves!”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Luster Dawn spat. “You have no idea what you’re saying! You don’t even know if this tree contains Elements!”

“Every Element Tree contains Elements,” Irradiance defended. He continued, “I watched Cobalt display faithfulness to the group when he admitted to not taking the easy way out and sticking with us even when you gave him the ability to leave!

“I watched Marigold display joyfulness when she kept trying to find the bright side when everything looked dull before we came in here, and Amber was charitable when she gave us the answers about a way out and showed us what we were looking for!”

“You’re just making these up!” Luster Dawn cried, scoffing at the claims of every creature in the room manifesting as a specific Element. “You can’t possibly know what Elements lie within the heart of the tree!”

Irradiance shook his head, “I don’t need to. Once there are ponies that manifest positive or negative qualities, the Tree itself will build the Elements around those ponies. Even Twilight Sparkle handled the same thing; no one knew what the sixth Element was, but once she said out loud what her purpose was, the Elements of Harmony were usable once again!”

“Irradiance, you can’t be serious,” Hibiscus called from the ground below. “Do you know what you’re talking about? Even I would never suggest this and I attended the school!”

“Even your puny friends doubt your methods, Unicorn! Give up now!” Luster Dawn insisted, tightening her grip on Irradiance with her magic, but the stallion stood strong, staring the Alicorn down.

“You doubt the powers of friendship, Luster Dawn. That’s why you ended up here. I did, too, but in the last year since I’ve gotten close with everyone here right now, I understand what it means to have true friends in your life. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to unlock the sixth Element of this tree: the Element of Enchantment!”

Luster Dawn laughed sinisterly once more, but even she couldn’t deny the sudden glow that the tree behind her was emanating. The Alicorn and all of the other creatures turned to watch as the vines that wrapped around the poor tree slowly dissolved into healthy, green ferns, reducing its hold on the tree and giving life to a colorful, crystal structure with five branches, each sprouting a different colored crystal. In the center was a deep indigo crystal that began glowing brighter than the rest. Irradiance grinned.

“What?” Luster Dawn cried, confidence sapped and expression now panicked. “How did you– how did you know it could do that?”

“Woah, holy Celestia!” Cobalt cried out, pointing with a hoof, “Do you guys see that? The crystals are coming out of the tree!”

Irradiance focused on the tree he’d practically manifested to do what he wanted and, just as Cobalt had said, the crystals were breaking away from the branches and the center of the tree and floating toward each of the six creatures in the cave alongside Luster Dawn.

Irradiance was in awe. He had genuinely used a random series of thoughts to scare Luster Dawn into letting them go, but he’d somehow guessed exactly how the tree worked! In his series of questioning what was happening, the Unicorn had failed to watch each of the crystals start to circle each of his friends: pink went to Hibiscus, red to Leviathan, blue to Cobalt, orange to Marigold, yellow to Amber, and the center purple stone came toward Irradiance.

“NO!” Luster Dawn cried, taking flight and attempting to leave the cave, but something was stopping her exit. Irradiance watched as the crystals orbited each creature faster and faster, bursting into light eventually and encompassing each individual creature. “No, stop! Stop it! You can’t defeat me, I worked too hard!” Luster Dawn’s cries became those of desperation and Irradiance felt his heart twist at the sound but he had to focus. He was about to be part of the new Elements of Harmony. All thanks to his made-up logic.

As Irradiance himself was suddenly encompassed in this light, he watched as his friends slowly descended after each of their crystals manifested into… jewelry?

Starting with Hibiscus, each crystal took the form of a golden necklace with a center gem that resembled each creature’s Cutie Mark in the color of the initial gem. Apart from Leviathan and Amber, of course, whose necklaces seemed to be simple shapes.

Still floating in the air, though now free of Luster Dawn’s magic holding him up, Irradiance closed his eyes as he felt the magic overtake the area surrounding him before feeling something heavy on the top of his head.

“NO!” Luster Dawn cursed loudly, looking around her at all of the highly magical creatures, each armed with the power of friendship (how embarrassing was that?) and ready to defend each other. The Alicorn looked around for a way out, but Irradiance knew how to stop her. He was set on the ground and he slowly approached Luster Dawn, expression kind.

“Luster Dawn,” He spoke calmly, trying to ignore the clear feeling of a crown sitting atop his head now. “I know what it’s like to be exorcized from a group. Ponies bullied me when I was younger and because of that, I isolated myself and never spoke to anyone else for years! Had Hibiscus and Cobalt never found me, I might never have realized that we all held the power to defeat you.”

“You can’t defeat me!” Luster Dawn cried. “I worked too hard… I earned these wings! I earned the title of ‘Princess!’ I can’t be defeated!”

“It’s okay to admit defeat, Luster. You can be my friend. We can work together! You can come back to Ponyville and apologize to Twilight–”

“NEVER!” Luster Dawn snarled, eyes glowing with intense magic. Though the magic was present, Irradiance was still unable to fight back with his own powers. Hibiscus and Leviathan rushed forward, horns glowing, as the Alicorn blasted down upon Irradiance with violent magic that was sure to cause harm if his friends hadn’t formed a protective field around him last minute. “You ponies think you know everything… that friendship can fix everything!”

“It can’t fix everything, Luster! But it can help!” Marigold called from afar, hiding behind Cobalt.

Luster ignored the Earth Pony in favor of trying to attack Irradiance even harder. Scared for himself and for his friends, Irradiance tried his best to summon any dregs of magic that might be hiding within his horn. Miraculously, sparks flew and Irradiance felt magic start to return to his weakened frame.

“NO!” Luster Dawn cried, still on a losing streak. Her magic, as it aimed toward the group of ponies, was being absorbed by Irradiance’s main stone within his new crown, returning it to his body. Looking up, Irradiance watched as the stream of magic entered the purple stone and he felt better and better and more magical as time went on. Luster’s magic slowly depleted as she aimed it forward, clearly in denial of what was happening.

“Irradiance! Your magic!” Hibiscus cried, watching as her friend regained his powers slowly, standing taller and with more confidence as he began to join Leviathan and Hibiscus in their protection spell.

“It’s the magic of friendship, Luster Dawn,” Irradiance shouted through the magic. “Twilight Sparkle knew it was possible and now I do, too!” As he spoke, the necklaces on his friends each began to glow, aiming light toward the spell Irradiance, Hibiscus, and Leviathan were all currently casting. “I’m the sixth Element; the Element of Enchantment! Together, we make up the new Elements of Harmony!”

It was as though saying their title cast a new spell entirely because suddenly each of the six creatures was lifted in the air, necklaces glowing, eyes glowing, and magic blasting into one concentrated blast, aimed directly at Luster Dawn.

It was terrifying to witness himself and all of his friends take on this new, almost scary form, as they blasted the Alicorn with magic, friendship-related or otherwise. The tall Alicorn was surrounded with light, unable to fly away or aim her own magic back at it as Irradiance had absorbed most of it. The tree behind her was still glowing, supporting the Elements that had now attached themselves to each of the creatures attempting to fight off Luster Dawn. Pride filled Irradiance as he felt Luster Dawn stop struggling, accepting defeat, and falling to the ground. The magic he and his friends were fighting her with slowly faded, each creature placed back onto the ground safely, now looking at a non-nightmare version of the Princess Luster Dawn.

Author's Note

finally!!! victory!!! this isn't perfect, i know, but i like writing it :) its a form of therapy for me while I'm in my big boy university setting lol. enjoy as we now begin the road to redemption!!!!

Chapter Eleven

Irradiance, having recovered from the blast he’d just sent right at Luster Dawn, rushed to his friends to ensure everyone was alright.

“That was incredible!” Cobalt cried, admiring the necklace now laid upon him, the center gemstone glittering spectacularly. “How did you do that, Irradiance?”

The purple Unicorn shook his head. “Like I said earlier! I was just using some logic to sort of, I don’t know… guess how it all worked. Clearly, I wasn’t wrong, you know?”

“The original Mane Six did exhibit elements that were previously unnamed after the Ancient Pillars had similar qualities…” Hibiscus recalled her lessons from the friendship school. “It’s not entirely ridiculous that calling these elements by a new name after we each exhibited a related action would cause the tree to activate.”

“I’ll never understand ponies,” Leviathan shook his head. Amber laughed along and nodded, feeling a tad excluded from the silly Equestrian logic, not from the pony town.

Irradiance relished in the fact that his friends were freed, Luster Dawn was defeated, and his magic had finally returned to him. Suddenly nervous he hallucinated the return of his magic, Irradiance illuminated his horn, picking up a pebble and tossing it across the cave, accidentally hitting Luster Dawn where she lay on the cavern floor.

“Oh!” Irradiance called, embarrassed at the accident. “I’m so sorry!” He rushed over to the mare, offering a hoof to help her up. The pink Alicorn looked… ashamed.

Silence overtook the room. The reality that the six creatures had just defeated the most recent evil that threatened to take over Equestria was hitting. Everyone shared uneasy eye contact as Irradiance continued to help Luster Dawn stand and gain her balance.

“Are… are you alright?” Hibiscus slowly stepped forward, slow movements, and her head lowered as she approached the princess. Luster Dawn looked like she might start crying at any moment. She sniffled.

“I’m sorry,” She breathed, eyes watery as they looked between every creature before her. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why… I’m not a mean pony!”

“Oh, no, we know!” Hibiscus assured, embracing Luster Dawn in a hug as the mare began to cry.

“Yeah, no big deal!” Cobalt waved a hoof, offering his sympathy, “Even Nightmare Moon was scary for a while but now Princess Luna is the most beloved princess, like, ever!”

Irradiance narrowed his eyes as he considered that claim but thought it wasn’t the time to bring up his objection to the statement. As Hibiscus and Luster Dawn hugged, the purple stallion turned to Amber.

“You said you found your way in here, right?” Irradiance looked up. The yellow Dragon nodded, shrugging her head in the direction she likely entered the cave through.

“It’s a long stretch and it gets kind of damp,” Amber spoke, staring at Luster Dawn as she did so. Irradiance felt like the Dragon Lord was on edge, nervous that the Alicorn might suddenly attack again. The stallion wasn’t concerned, though. Luster Dawn was reduced to tears; no chance was she a threat now.

The stallion and Dragon made their way toward the exit tunnel, looking within to make sure no boulders were going to come crashing down like all the other tunnels had thus far. Irradiance illuminated the space with his horn, familiar indigo magic brightening up the tunnel. It was a small victory, knowing he could do that again. He smiled as a crystalline hoof stepped forward into the exit.

“Hey,” Irradiance turned, calling to his friends, Hibiscus still comforting Luster Dawn, though it looked like the princess had calmed down. “Are you guys ready to get out of here?” His mouth quirked into a smile. They’d been stuck in these caves for far too long.

Cobalt rushed forward immediately, followed by Marigold almost as fast. “Fresh air, here I come!” The Pegasus cried, running into the darkness blindly, not caring about the lack of illumination.

“I’ve never missed Everfree so bad!” Marigold shouted further down the tunnel, not stopping as she bolted out. Ironically she seemed far more eager to get out than any of the other ponies that had dealt with stressful trials. Irradiance couldn’t really blame them, though. He wanted out just as bad.

“Luster Dawn,” Irradiance turned and spoke to the Alicorn, still teary-eyed though her sobs had died down. “Come with us back to Canterlot. Come meet Princess Twilight Sparkle–”

“No!” Luster Dawn interrupted, stance protective. She eyed the remaining creatures in the cave, “I mean… I don’t think Twilight would want to see me after all this time.”

“Princess Twilight is the princess of friendship,” Hibiscus reminded the pink Alicorn, who shuffled her hooves nervously. “I’m sure she’d love to see you again. She was the one who sent us in here to help you, you know!”

“Help or defeat?” Luster Dawn mused, looking between the two Unicorns who just avoided eye contact, glancing at each other instead. The princess shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know.”

“We’ll be with you the whole time, Luster,” Leviathan chimed in, red eyes sparkling. “Irradiance is a great friend. We’ve all known him for over a year at this point, and everyone else here is just as nice. You don’t have to be worried that no one will like you.”

“Yeah,” Amber added, walking closer to the small group. The Dragon Lord herself speaking up always felt like such an accomplishment, Irradiance thought. Since she’d been so skeptical of Irradiance at first, anyway, “The six of us are great friends. Distance makes the heart grow fainter, or whatever you ponies say.”

“Fonder,” Hibiscus corrected. Amber waved a clawed hand.

“Whatever.”

Luster Dawn looked between the four before sighing and taking a step forward. “Okay,” She began, nervous, “I’ll come with you back to Canterlot and I’ll meet with Twilight. She probably has a lot to talk to me about.”

With a final shared look between the group of friends and Luster Dawn, the creatures all began the trek down the tunnel (though they were going far slower than Cobalt and Marigold had run).

Irradiance, Hibiscus, and Leviathan’s magic illuminated the tunnel, with the purple stallion leading and Hibiscus bringing up the rear alongside Luster. Amber and Leviathan trailed behind Irradiance, a comfortable silence taking over the group.

After reaching the halfway point, seeing sunlight start to trickle through the cracks in the rock and dirt walls, Irradiance couldn’t help but begin thinking back to the start of the journey. His magic had been fading, all because of his connection to this Element Tree. The tree that he’d made vague assumptions about and been right! Uniting his friends and watching them all show characteristics of friendship, coming together to defeat Breaking Dawn, had caused the magic tree to blossom and give them these wonderful new Elements to watch over. He’d need to tell Twilight all about it.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed within the cave. Luster Dawn had initially claimed it would take a day to gain her physical form, but had she been defeated before or after achieving it? Irradiance had lost all his magic at that point, but Luster Dawn hadn’t even tried to take over Equestria… or so it seemed. When the group emerged from the cave system, would Twilight be stuck in a cell beneath the Canterlot Castle? Would his safety be compromised? Would Twilight let him continue to be her student or would she take Luster Dawn back under her wing after her clear misuse of her lessons?

“Hey,” Irradiance jumped at the sudden contact of a wing brushing against his flank. Turning to his left, he was met with gentle ruby eyes looking right at him, white fangs glimmering as Leviathan smiled, “Are you okay?”

The purple stallion nodded, taking a breath, “Yeah, sorry. I was just spiraling. We’ve been in here for a while. I’ve been getting in my head a lot.”

The Changeling nodded, easily understanding his partner’s anxiety, “I get it. But Twilight knows you’re capable and she trusts those she’s trained. Luster Dawn will get back and be reinstated as the second princess and you’ll go back to being Twilight’s student.”

“And you’ll return to the Hive?”

Leviathan thought for a moment, looking away with a funny expression, “I don’t know. Eventually, yes, but we need to speak to Princess Twilight about these,” He gestured to the necklace around his neck and the crown atop Irradiance’s head. “Once that’s dealt with, I’ll probably return to the Hive.”

It was inevitable that the group of friends would have to split once more; Cobalt had to continue his Wonderbolt training, Hibiscus would return to the Friendship School, Irradiance would continue his lessons under the princess, Amber would return to the Nest, Leviathan to the Hive, and Marigold would return to her shop. Irradiance felt his heart hurt for a moment before reassuring himself that true friends never truly disappear. There would be distance, sure, but like Amber said! Distance does make the heart grow fonder.

“Here!” Amber shouted from behind the stallions, “This is the exit!” Sunlight shone in brighter, the small cracks now leading to a large hole that a pony could easily fit through.

“I thought you said these were treated as inescapable dungeons,” Hibiscus asked Luster, who turned a darker shade of pink.

“When ponies are scared they’ll believe anything,” She defended, not quite answering the question. Irradiance rolled his eyes as he understood what she was saying. Had these ever actually been used as dungeons?

“Finally!”

“We thought you guys would stay in there forever!”

Cobalt and Marigold were seated in front of the tunnel’s exit, playing what looked to be a version of cards on the forest floor (except the cards were leaves and neither pony looked to be playing the same thing).

“It’s not our fault you both took off without us!” Hibiscus shot, sending a pointed look at Cobalt, who turned a bit red.

“Oops,” Marigold shrugged, smiling. “I wanted to get out! I was tired of being in the caves! Plus my amulet sparkles so much better out here!” The Earth Pony stood up and moved into the light, showing off the orange flower gemstone that sparkled magnificently in the sunlight that filtered through the trees above.

“We should get out of here,” Amber suggested to the group. “We’ll need to speak with the princess about the Elements and then I need to return to the Nest.”

“Plus I’m hungry!” Cobalt complained. Irradiance had missed the lighthearted conversation his friends were able to have when they weren’t in such stressful scenarios with magic on the line.

“Let’s head back to the edge of the forest. I’m sure Twilight is either waiting for us or we can call for her once we’re there,” Irradiance decided, turning on his hooves and beginning the walk to the transition between Everfree and Canterlot.

It was a quiet journey back to Canterlot. Irradiance considered trying to message Twilight or teleporting, but he worried that Luster Dawn would take offense to the lack of trust. Not that it was unwarranted– Irradiance had been subject to his magic being drained, his friends being put through mental anguish, and the sudden placement of these Elements upon them all! Luster Dawn definitely needed to be kept under close watch. For now, anyway. Hibiscus seemed to be doing a fine job of making the princess comfortable. Marigold had joined her now, surrendering her place beside Cobalt as he speed-walked out of the forest alongside Irradiance and Leviathan.

“I’ll fly ahead and notify the princess that she should send a carriage for everyone,” Amber chimed, taking flight as she looked to the purple stallion, who nodded in agreement.

“Good idea, Amber. Let her know there’s six of us returning,” Irradiance gave a wry smile as he looked back to the pink Alicorn, ears tucked back. Amber nodded surely, red eyes looking up as she burst through the canopy of leaves and flew toward Canterlot.

“You think Twilight will be surprised when Luster Dawn comes back?” Cobalt asked, quirking his head to the side as he thought aloud.

“Probably,” Leviathan answered, thinking about it, “If I had banished Abbadon and he suddenly returned a thousand years later, I know I’d be a little weirded out.”

“You think Princess Twilight will be weirded out?” Luster Dawn finally spoke up, head finally perking up as she considered what her return might mean. Irradiance sighed, understanding the anxiety.

He let Cobalt and Leviathan keep walking as he stepped back to talk to the princess. Wary as he was, it wasn’t fair to assume she was purely evil, “I lived in these forests for a decade, you know. When I finally met all my friends and returned to Equestrian society it was a big adjustment.”

“Did the ponies fear you, too?” Luster Dawn asked, brows pressed together in worry. Irradiance considered what to respond with.

“Not when I returned… there was this myth I had been killed by a monster in the forest but my actual memory had been honored with a whole memorial in my old school!

“Twilight…” Irradiance looked away, “She didn’t really notify the common folk about the original second princess. In fact, most ponies had forgotten about you. Which is probably a good thing!” He quickly added, watching Luster’s expression fall.

“Yeah! No memory is better than a bad memory!” Marigold added, trying to help. Her expression looked panicked. Irradiance appreciated the backup and sent a smile to the Earth Pony.

A shadow came over the group before another word could be said and Leviathan was the one to look up first.

“Amber!” He cried, taking flight and meeting her halfway. “Did you speak to the princess?”

The Dragon Lord nodded, smiling at the other ponies. “She’s sent a carriage to get everyone and it should be waiting once we come out of the forest.”

“Perfect,” Irradiance sighed. “Glad everything has worked out in the end. I guess we always get lucky, don’t we?”

“Lucky?” Cobalt turned to the stallion, face twisted, “Irradiance, you’re one of the most powerful Unicorns in all of Equestria in this generation! Princess Twilight took you up as her student and you’re living in the Canterlot Castle because of that! No way is it luck that helps you out! It’s just talent!”

Irradiance felt a flush on his cheeks as the blue Pegasus finished his lecture. “Oh, uh,” He stuttered, not sure what to say apart from a “thank you.”

“Why can’t you be that eloquent with words at home?” Hibiscus asked, expression one of awe. Cobalt just shrugged.

“You don’t put down your accomplishments. Irradiance needed the boost. I can increase my complimentary-ness, though,” He grinned at the mare, adding a wink at the end which had Hibiscus blushing as well.

“Okay, let’s keep moving,” Marigold started pushing her friends forward, laughing heartily. “See, Luster? We’re great friends. You’re in good hooves with us.”

Continuing through Everfree, the seven creatures finally made their way to the edge of the forest where there was, in fact, a royal carriage waiting for them all, guards at the ready.

“Spearhead! Canon Ball!” Irradiance beamed, recognizing the guards pulling the carriage.

“Twilight thought it would be best if she sent familiar faces to greet you, after what you’ve been through,” Spearhead grimaced. Irradiance sent a familiar look back at him.

“We’re ready for departure, Irradiance!” Canon Ball assured, saluting. Irradiance rolled his eyes and let out a laugh as he gestured for all of his friends to hop inside the carriage, as well as Luster Dawn. Leviathan and Amber settled to fly alongside the carriage rather than ride within.

Closing the carriage door behind him, Irradiance took a deep breath. He was safe with his friends, he’d defeated Luster Dawn’s evil form, and he was on his way back home.

He’d have to really catch up with his friends after they’d all returned and finished their mission. Hibiscus and Cobalt being an item was confusing… was he still living in Cloudsdale or had he come to Canterlot?

They were questions for later. For now, Irradiance tried to focus on the road back to the castle.

Author's Note

me when i was once banished (or something) and when i returned i was treated like a prince but when other ponies return from banishment its actually stressful ::yikes::
fun writing! a couple chapters left methinks :)

Chapter Twelve

“It looks… different,” Luster Dawn remarked as the carriage parked in front of the castle. Irradiance could recall guards speaking about different stained glass windows, an increase of crystal motifs after Twilight’s reign… guess he’d never stopped to consider that Luster Dawn would have remembered the differences, too.

“Yeah,” The stallion sighed, awkwardly laughing. “I guess a thousand years locked away means you’ll miss out on the construction. Maybe that’s a good thing,” Irradiance nudged Luster with a crystalline hoof, trying to joke. Based on the Alicorn’s expression, though, the joke fell flat.

“Would you like an escort, Irradiance?” Spearhead asked, helping Hibiscus and Marigold out of the carriage, eyes not leaving the purple stallion.

Opening and closing his mouth, Irradiance considered the pros and cons. He settled on the fact it might make Luster Dawn uncomfortable or untrustworthy, “No, I think we’re alright, Spearhead. But thank you,” He smiled. The guards were such good friends when Irradiance was in the castle alone, most of the time. Or when Leviathan wasn’t hiding as one of the guards before revealing he’d come to visit.

The walk into the castle was nerve-wracking. Irradiance could feel the anxiety emanating from Luster Dawn’s frame. His friends could, too. They all shared a few looks before finally turning their heads forward to the castle door, meeting Leviathan and Amber, who had been waiting.

“Are you ready, Luster Dawn?” Marigold asked the Alicorn, who shook her head.

“But we should go in anyway. Twilight would say I’m ready,” Luster Dawn steadied her expression and walked forward without further accompaniment.

Irradiance felt a pang of jealousy strike him as he followed in behind Luster Dawn and the others. He’d been picked to be Twilight’s student, right? And Luster Dawn had since graduated! She wasn’t a student anymore. And yet, Irradiance couldn’t help but worry that Twilight would put Luster first in her studies. She would need to relearn the magic of friendship, wouldn’t she?

“Hey,” Leviathan was always by his side in times of anxiety, wasn’t he? Ruby red eyes sparkled as they looked at Irradiance.

“Hey,” The purple stallion, rolled his eyes, letting out a deep breath. “I’m fine, I promise.”

“You’re always so stuck in your head, Irradiance. We’re here for you, you know.” The Changeling gestured to the other creatures in front of Irradiance. His expression was firm but caring.

“I know, I know. I was just alone for so long. Feeling secure in everything around me isn’t something I’m used to. Or, not completely,” Irradiance avoided looking at the stallion, embarrassed at his lack of comfort after a year of living in Canterlot.

“It’s okay to feel like you don’t fit in. I’m still getting used to being in my Changeling form in front of all the Canterlot ponies,” Leviathan empathized, switching to Emerald Shield as he walked past a few guards in the castle. They saluted as he passed, still recalling his time as a member of the royal guard.

“Do you miss being part of the guard? I can’t remember if you’ve been reinstated,” Irradiace changed the subject as he recalled the original form he’d met his partner in.

“Being the ruler of the Hive is more important to me, right now. I’m free to come and go as I please within the guard’s staff but…” Leviathan switched back to his Changeling form, insect wings fluttering once he’d transformed, “I prefer to visit just for you, rather than for Twilight’s guard.”

Irradiance smiled at that. He was lucky to have such good friends, lucky that Cobalt and Hibiscus had stumbled upon him in the Everfree Forest a year ago. There was something that seemed to keep drawing him back to the forest and Irradiance hoped that the next adventure he and the others were drawn to wasn’t Everfree. He needed a break from curses.

“How is Abbadon, by the way?”

“Do you know you’re allowed to have fears and doubts?”

“Yes!” Irradiance dismissed. “How is Abbadon?”

Leviathan sighed, giving up and letting the topic finally pass, “He’s fine. Finally giving in to the ‘making your own magic’ deal. A lot of the Changelings have taken to forms of art. If we could have Cutie Marks in the hive I’m sure half of them would be creatives.”

“Is Abbadon one of them?” Irradiance quirked an eyebrow, unsure if the answer he’d been given was related.

“He secretly enjoys poetry. He’s also found himself a lovebug in the Hive–”

“Presenting Princess Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship and ruler of Equestria!” A cacophony of horns sounded, cutting off the pair of stallions’ conversation.

Twilight looked tired if Irradiance had to put a name to the expression. Her eyes had bags under them and her body language was slower and far less alert than it had been. As her indigo eyes passed over the collection of creatures, they lit up once they recognized Luster Dawn was a part of them.

“Luster Dawn?”

“Hello, Twilight,” Luster Dawn’s ears were pressed back against her head, shrinking in on herself as she looked up at her mentor and fellow royal.

The violet Alicorn rushed down the steps from her throne, gliding down the last few stairs before embracing her student in a tight hug. Luster looked extremely confused at the response, but eventually reciprocated the hug nonetheless.

“Oh, Luster!” The princess cried, tears beginning to prick the corners of her eyes, a smile splitting across her face as she sobbed, “I’m so sorry I sent you away!”

As though the tears were contagious, Luster began to tear up as well, pushing herself further into the arms of her superior.

“No, it’s okay, Twilight. I wasn’t right. I thought I was entitled to more than just leading alongside you after I’d earned my wings.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t teach you better, Luster,” Twilight pulled back, indigo eyes staring into Luster’s golden. “You were my first student that was meant to graduate to become a princess and I failed you. I didn’t show you what the true magic of friendship meant.” Twilight pulled away finally, eyes downturned as she thought back to her methods of teaching the younger pony. Luster looked appalled.

“It’s not your fault Twilight,” She insisted, looking up at the purple Alicorn, “I had pushed away friendship– or even the idea that I should make friends– ever since the start of my studies. I never let myself open to the idea of friends or ruling alongside someone else…” Luster turned to the six creatures behind her, where Irradiance was beaming. Luster continued, “Irradiance and his friends showed me what the magic of friendship can truly mean, though. They finally freed me from my solitary way of thinking.”

Twilight brushed away a few tears before turning away from Luster Dawn and facing Irradiance and his friends. She smiled upon them all before she spoke with confidence and finality, “Thank you, Irradiance, for defeating Luster Dawn and returning her to her rightful place as princess of Equestria.”

“Of course!” Irradiance fought the urge to bow to the princess, catching himself mid-movement before feeling the weight of his crown nearly tilt over. “Ah!” Irradiance caught the headpiece with his magic, allowing Twilight to transition into her next lecture to the group.

“I see you all unlocked the Element Tree’s elements,” Twilight looked over all six creatures, seeing the necklaces upon each and the crown upon Irradiance. “I, too, once wielded the Elements of Harmony with my friends…” She turned to the stained glass image that depicted the defeat of Nightmare Moon, Twilight, and her five friends shown, each with their own necklace and the princess with her crown.

“Is that what these are?” Irradiance asked, “The Elements of Harmony?”

Twilight chuckled lightly, reminiscing. “No, the Tree of Harmony has long since disappeared. It had transformed into a new structure for some of my students to stay in, but as of now, I believe it has returned to the ground below.

“The tree you harnessed your elements from, however,” Twilight paced for a moment, recalling one of her textbooks, most likely, “It’s certainly another Element Tree. The magic that was imbued with Luster Dawn’s magic must have given it the boost to create its own elements. Once you all showed that you were worthy of wielding them, well,” Twilight lifted a hoof to gesture to the elements now resting upon each of the creatures.

“So what are our elements, then?” Cobalt asked, stepping forward to address the princess. “I mean, if we’re not the Elements of Harmony… can we pick our own theme?”

“Ooh! We should be called the Elements of Peace!” Marigold chimed, grinning as she looked at her necklace. Twilight sighed, amused at the eagerness of the group to hold a title of good, “I believe a better title might be the Elements of Polyphony. It was one of the names of the Elements of Harmony in one of the translated textbooks I’ve read. It seems they produce much the same effect so a similar name suits you all.”

“The Elements of Polyphony,” Irradiance whispered, a sense of accomplishment filling his heart, mouth splitting into a grin.

Twilight nodded before turning to Luster Dawn once more, who seemed nervous, her hooves shuffling on the ground. “Now, you’re all welcome to stay in Canterlot castle for as long as you’d like, but I believe Luster and I have a few things to catch up on,” Turning with a whoosh of her wings and tail, Twilight escorted Luster through the hall of the castle and into the main corridor through the doors to the right of the throne. The younger Alicorn was clearly still quite nervous, but still managed to look back and give a thankful look at the group of creatures that had freed her from her toxic way of thinking.

With the swooshing of the doors closing, Irradiance and his friends were left with only the royal guards as companions in the throne room.

“Elements of Polyphony,” Hibiscus mused, looking around the room. “Do you think we’ll get our own stained glass portrait?”

“I hope!” Cobalt exclaimed, looking around at the many portraits within the throne room. The coronation of Flurry Heart, the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and the return of the Ancient Pillars were just a few.

“I don’t think earning a portrait should be what we’re aiming for,” Irradiance smiled, admiring the glass artwork as well, “Feels selfish.”

“Excuse me for wanting to be immortalized!” Cobalt joked, “Not all of us already have memorials in our childhood schools or were granted with near-immortality!”

Irradiance flinched, understanding that, no matter how long the group stayed as friends, they would never last forever. In fact, Leviathan and Amber would live for thousands of years, but Irradiance, Cobalt, Hibiscus, and Marigold would one day fall victim to the curse of mortality. Maybe a portrait wasn’t too selfish of a goal to want after all.

“Okay, fine. Long term goal can be helping enough ponies and other creatures to earn a portrait in the Canterlot castle. But that can’t be the only reason you harness your element!” Irradiance scolded, “You literally declined the offer to escape those caves in favor of staying with Hibiscus– with all of us!”

The blue Pegasus shrugged, pulling the pink Unicorn close to him, “We’ve known each other forever, what can I say?” His face split into a devious grin as he suddenly began laying kisses across the mare’s face, who broke out into laughter, “And she’s just so good-looking!”

“Cobalt!” Hibiscus giggled, “Stop! Oh, my Celestia, you’re embarrassing me!”

“No, come on, element of empathy! Understand my love for you!” Cobalt and Hibiscus devolved into laughter. The rest of the group couldn’t help but smile at the display of affection.

Tearing his eyes away from the pair, Irradiance gazed upon the rest of his friends. “How long do you all plan to stay in Canterlot? Or, I guess how long do you plan to rest before returning to work?”

Marigold shrugged, “The apothecary isn’t in the highest demand right now, and I have a few friends who wouldn’t mind taking over for a week or so,” The yellow Earth Pony smiled, always happier than most these days. It made Irradiance happy knowing the mage was feeling welcome in society after having been exiled so long ago.

“The Dragonlands aren’t something I can leave for long. I would love to stay longer, Irradiance,” Amber spoke with some sadness in her voice, truly feeling guilty that her position caused her to stay away for longer periods than the others, “But the Dragons don’t take well to a lack of leadership.”

The stallion nodded, finally removing his crown and placing it in the saddlebag he still had with him. “I understand, don’t worry.”

“The Hive should be okay without me for a day or two,” Leviathan spoke up, always in support of Irradiance. He was the one welcome in the Unicorn’s room as per the princess, after all.

“We’ll be nearby, don’t worry,” Hibiscus finally addressed the group, still stuck in Cobalt’s embrace. She was still smiling ear-to-ear.

Irradiance nodded, considering what to do next. Amber would be leaving as soon as she could, Leviathan would be here for the next day or two, and the others would be nearby for most of the time, likely a week or so. The stallion’s ears pricked up as he suddenly remembered all of the jewelry they were all sporting.

“Should we find a designated place for the elements?” Irradiance suggested, causing a deliberation to wash over the group.

Amber removed her necklace first, handing it to Irradiance with a clawed hand. He took it gently, holding it with his magic rather than placing it in his bag, “The Dragons will eat the gemstone if I bring it back home. If another emergency comes up, I’ll return here and get it.”

“Yeah, you do live in the castle, Irradiance,” Marigold removed hers next, “I think it’s best if you hold onto all of the elements. You can do your research under Twilight about how to properly use them. We only just discovered that they even existed!”

“Okay… okay, yeah. I’ll keep them safe here and talk to Twilight about how we’ll use them in the future. Hopefully, that won’t be anytime soon,” Irradiance joked, but with their luck, it was likely another evil would arise sooner rather than later.

The other creatures removed their necklaces as well and Irradiance collected them, placing them all in his saddlebag for now, making the mental note to find a better case for them all. He’d ask Twilight later.

“Well,” Leviathan spoke up next, walking beside Irradiance to press against him, “Since Amber’s leaving soon, how about we all get dinner? Have a final gathering together before we start going our separate ways?”

“Sounds great! I know just the place!” Marigold beamed, hair bouncing as she hopped in place for a moment.

Irradiance grinned, happy that everything had worked out and he hadn’t wound up in the infirmary after this adventure. He’d enjoy a meal with his friends and return to his studies with Twilight soon enough. For now, he simply relished in the moment. Friendship truly did seem to be enchanting.

Author's Note

HE SAID IT!!! HE SAID THE NAME OF THE SERIES!!!!
okay so this book was shorter than the other one but idk. not all stories need a billion words to be told, yk? this one concluded itself in about 30k words rather than 40k and that's okay :) i do have a third book being planned out but I'm not promising anything!!! bc college and all. I'm literally taking dynamics rn. though these books are a form of therapy for me. writing is so fun!!!
one chapter left (epilogue) and then that'll be it for the Shadows of Everfree! also fun fact: chatgpt helped make the name. obviously i wrote everything else, but its not so useless of a tool!

Epilogue

The adjustment of a second princess joining Twilight Sparkle on the throne after a thousand years of only Twilight ruling was… slow. It had been so long that only the other princesses remembered there even was a second princess that had once ruled along Twilight.

Luster was acutely aware of this fact and it often led to a lack of confidence at the galas and other meetings where she was introduced to the ponies of Equestria for the first time again. Twilight made sure to make her as comfortable as possible.

Irradiance was a close companion to both Alicorns for the majority of the time. After having defeated Luster Dawn with the magic of friendship, Irradiance was a key component within the royal hierarchy. He became properly introduced to Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, at the first summit that Luster Dawn attended. He was given the honorary title of “Guardian of Friendship.”

Irradiance wasn’t the only one of the six to earn a title, of course. After the defeat of Luster Dawn, the group of creatures did earn a stained glass portrait. Cobalt was over the moon and Irradiance emphasized that this did not mean the group would simply stop their assistance of other creatures, but meant they didn’t need to reach for selfish goals anymore. They’d already achieved their immortalization. (Cobalt was still jealous that Hibiscus and Irradiance had physical memorials).

The group had become the Elements of Polyphony and the new series of heroes became even more well-known throughout Equestria. Irradiance was suddenly blessed with even more royal treatment, given gifts and free samples, and rushed to a free table whenever he went out. It was exhausting just as much as it was rewarding.

“Did you deal with this fame when you became an Element of Harmony?” Irradiance had asked Twilight, who shook her head.

“No, I wasn’t as famous as you are,” Twilight had recalled, “Not until I earned my status as Princess of Friendship, of course. But gossip spreads quickly in Canterlot. I was living in Ponyville at the time, so I suppose that may be a factor.”

Though his friends stayed in Canterlot for as long as they all could, Irradiance wasn’t able to see them all the time. Studies as Twilight’s student weren’t solely friendship-related and often meant researching ancient artifacts, and accompanying her to meetings and other social events.

Letters became a common thing between the six creatures. Irradiance had started it, sending a letter to Leviathan once a week or so, until eventually, Leviathan started sending the letters to Amber, who sent them to Marigold, who sent them to Cobalt and Hibiscus, until they reached Irradiance once again. They weren’t able to see each other, but they still spoke as often as they could. It was a nice tradeoff.

Luster and Irradiance had grown close after the incident, as they’d dubbed it. Both new to the royal treatment, they stuck together at the summits, public relations meetings, and within the castle in general. Luster wanted help relearning friendship and Irradiance was the perfect pony to help her. He referred to his own friends for some topics (each creature seemed to be the expert of their own element. Made sense).

“How are you adjusting to the heightened fame, Irradiance?”

He had been in the middle of walking home from visiting Marigold at her apothecary when several reporter ponies had stopped him in the street, asking sudden interview questions to put in a magazine article.

Irradiance approached the castle gates, ears pressed back in exhaustion, “Slowly,” He admitted, yawning as he opened the doors with his magic, horn sparkling in the purple aura. Canon Ball and Spearhead exchanged a glance, empathizing with the Unicorn.

“Luster Dawn said the same thing,” Spearhead said. Irradiance nodded.

“I’d figure. A thousand years of being locked away? It can’t be easy for her to come back to a new series of guards, friends, and an entire town after all that time.”

With a wave, Irradiance entered the castle and beelined it toward his room, tired of the week’s assignments from the princess, the socialization with all of the reporters and store staff who wanted to give the Guardian of Harmony gifts, and more. Not that he was ingrateful! Irradiance was much the opposite! But he was still an introvert at heart, missing his home within Everfree every now and then. A nap on his bed in his room was something he was craving more than anything else.

“Afternoon, Irradiance,” A guard greeted, bowing his head as the stallion approached his bedroom door.

“Afternoon,” The stallion replied. Used to the antics by now, he did a double-take at the guard, expecting a green coat and darker green mane to be beneath the armor, but he was met with no such thing.

Instead of Leviathan’s common pony disguise, this guard was none of the others that the purple Unicorn had seen before. His coat was a deep grey, his mane black, and his horn seemed to be tipped with red.

“What was your name again?” Irradiance asked. He’d done his best to meet and become friendly with the majority of the castle guards, but this one wasn’t familiar in the slightest.

“Noctis Steel, ” The guard responded firmly, looking up and adjusting his posture. Irradiance felt a chill go through him at the name but left it alone.

“At ease, soldier,” He dismissed the guard’s formal pose, entering his room and closing the door behind him. Something felt… off… about that Notcis Steel. He couldn’t place it, but he felt like he’d seen the Unicorn before somewhere.

“Finally!” A voice came from Irradiance’s bed. Turning around, the purple Unicorn saw the face he’d been hoping for. “I’ve been waiting here for ages!”

Leviathan was in his pony form, likely having come in as a guard before retiring to Irradiance’s room to surprise the Unicorn. Irradiance grinned at his partner, waltzing over and lying down on his bed.

“Why can’t you ever just tell me you’re going to visit?” Irradiance questioned, looking back at the stallion. Leviathan shrugged, transforming into his Changeling form in a flash of red.

“It’s funner to surprise you.”

“Funner isn’t a word.”

“I can say it, can’t I?” Irradiance looked away. Leviathan grinned, “Then it’s a word!”

“Whatever. I came here to nap, not to converse with an illiterate Changeling.”

“Hey!” Leviathan laughed in mock offense, watching as Irradiance made himself comfortable on the plush bed and closed his eyes.

“I’m serious. Sleep or get out.”

Leviathan rolled his eyes before joining his partner in bed, snuggling up close. It was nice being able to have these private moments with each other. Irradiance wondered if any of the others (apart from Cobalt and Hibiscus, of course) had found companionship anywhere. Was Amber even the romantic type? She’d been engaged to Leviathan, but that was just diplomatic, wasn’t it?

Marigold would definitely be a romantic pony. She had happiness in her heart. Platonic love, romantic love, Irradiance was sure she was capable of it all. Whichever pony earned that love was going to be lucky.

As he drifted off to sleep, Irradiance couldn’t help but think about that guard by his door. He knew the majority of the guards by name and if he didn't know their names, he knew what they looked like at the very least. Usually a white or grey coat, white, blue, or grey manes… Leviathan’s pony disguise was the only guard that usually stuck out. This Noctis wasn’t familiar and it just kept pulling Irradiance out of his peaceful nap.

Huffing and puffing, Irradiance finally sat up and decided to confront the guard. Leviathan, having managed to fall asleep, was left alone in the bed as Irradiance maneuvered around him, trying his best not to wake his partner. His own thoughts shouldn’t prohibit anyone else’s rest.

Slowly walking toward the door to his bedroom, Irradiance opened them to speak to Noctis, wondering if he’d been hired recently and the Unicorn had simply forgotten to introduce himself.

“Hey, Noctis?” Irradiance turned to his right, about to greet the Unicorn, but he was gone. A puff of what looked like black smoke was wafting away, but no Unicorn guard was anywhere to be found. An uneasy feeling took over Irradaince’s stomach as he quickly closed his bedroom door and tried to consider if the guard was a hallucination.

“Irradiance?” Leviathan woke up with the slam of the door, hair messy and eyes tired. The purple Unicorn turned around.

“Have you ever heard of a Noctis Steel in the guard ranks?” Leviathan shook his head slowly.

“I’ve been gone for a while, but the name doesn’t ring a bell. Most of the new guards don’t guard the inner rooms, though. They’re usually given hall duty to get used to the job.”

Irradiance’s stomach turned again. Something was wrong. His face was turning closer to green than purple and Leviathan was up and out of the bed within a few moments to comfort the stallion.

“Hey, hey, are you okay? What happened?” The Changeling led Irradiance to the edge of the bed, having him sit down before he was sick where he stood.

Feeling himself start to shake, Irradiance tried to speak calmly, “I think someone’s trying to invade the castle. There was a new guard outside of my room but when I went to check, he was gone.”

“Are you sure he didn’t just walk away?” Irradiance shook his head, sure in his beliefs. “No, he just disappeared! There was smoke when I went to speak to him. Guards don’t just leave their posts, anyway.

Leviathan hummed. “Okay. Okay, so we’ll mention it to Twilight. But I’d never let anyone get close to you, Mr. Guardian of Harmony,” The Changeling teased, and Irradiance let out a weak laugh.

Calming down with the help of his partner, Irradiance settled himself and gave up trying to nap, resorting to having Leviathan quiz him on the terms of friendship and other units he’d been given to research by Twilight recently. Might as well make the visit worth it.

(Within a nearby empire, a shadow returned, and snow began to fall.)

Author's Note

woooow. way to be original, me. using the same setup and another teaser at the end?
idk its fun. its like in Disney Descendants where they're like "you didn't think that was the end of the story, did you?"
i like giving myself the option to write more!!!!
so idk you can guess who noctis steel is but I'm not gonna say it outright. i hope you enjoyed this little sequel! ill see yall next time :)