The Monument to All Your Sins.

The five elements of harmony and Bek were inside a small cave, all were around a campfire while outside there was a big snowstorm; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie were lying wrapped in big sleeping bags, the blue pegasus and the farmer were sharing a single sleeping bag, cuddling and sleeping peacefully, the unicorn dressmaker was asleep covered with five different types of blankets all with different types of sewing styles, she was smiling slightly with her eyes covered with an eye mask, the party pony was curled up in a ball on her sleeping bag, covering herself from the cold with her own tail and mane which seemed to have fluffed up even more than usual and the violet alicorn was wrapped in a simple single sleeping bag.

Twilight was trying to fall asleep, rolling over and over on her back, no matter how long she kept her eyes closed she just couldn't sleep.
Finally she sat up in her sleeping bag hugging her hind legs to her chest, it was at that moment she realized she wasn't the only one spending the night awake.

Bek was wrapped in a single brown blanket, she was sitting with her back against the cave wall, her gaze was lost looking in the direction of the cave entrance, lost in the chaotic shapes of the falling snow.
Twilight sat silently watching the mare for a long while, that is until Bek's voice brought her out of her reverie.

“You should rest while you can...”

Twilight startled letting out a small cry, shaking her head and responding nervously.

“Ehh..that I,,, no, what?”

“We leave first thing tomorrow morning, it wouldn't be good if you fell down exhausted halfway through” Bek's voice was almost like a whisper, keeping his eyes on the storm outside.

Twilight didn't know what to answer, she thought about trying to go back to sleep but meeting the unicorn's melancholy gaze she decided to move closer and sit near her.

“What about you?” the alicorn asked cautiously.

Bek finally turned to see Twilight who was looking at her with a mixture of concern and doubt, thinking for a moment about what she should answer, the unicorn soon realized that trying to come up with some made up explanation was a pointless endeavor, letting out a big sigh and deciding to be honest with Twilight.

“I learned a long time ago to survive on just a couple of hours of sleep, you'd be surprised how many battles you can lose by wanting to sleep fully...” Bek looked away from the alicantine directing her gaze to the cave floor before continuing “Besides...I don't like my dreams, I prefer to sleep only as much as necessary so I don't spend too much time in there...”

Twilight was a bit surprised by the mare's answer, she didn't expect something so specific for a question she considered very trivial, at this show of vulnerability Twilight decided she wouldn't be indifferent and decided to infer a bit more.

“And why don't you like your dreams?” Twilight moved a little closer, standing right next to Bek which didn't take long to answer.

“They're almost never peaceful dreams...” Bek kept her gaze fixed to the ground between her hind legs.

“And would you like to...tell me a little bit about them?” Twilight immediately regretted what she said, she thought that was already being too nosy and that she will end up annoying Bek by being so undisguised.

The unicorn looked up in surprise and looked directly into Twilight's eyes.
The alicorn blushed slightly at his gaze, embarrassed that she had been so tactless in her questions.
To Twilight's surprise, Bek let out a small giggle covering her mouth with one of her hooves to keep from making so much noise.
Twilight looked quizzically at the curious moment, not being able to help but smile slightly, Bek's face was so cute when she smiled.

“I didn't know we were already at that level of trust” Bek said still amused.

“No no no no, that's not what I meant, it's just that I..” replied Twilight nervously.

“Relax, you have nothing to apologize for...” Bek paused and her smile disappeared “It's just that I wouldn't want to have to tell you about my bad dreams.”

“And why don't you tell me one of the good ones?” asked Twilight intrigued.

Bek stood for a moment thinking about the alicorn's request, she rummaged deep in her memory in search of something peaceful enough to be considered a “Good dream” until it finally came to her.

“I'm not sure because the memories are still very hazy...” she began to say ”But I could have sworn that, during the time I was frozen, at some point I had a dream, or maybe it was a vision...”

Twilight listened intently, now with her curiosity even more noticeable on her face.

“I felt a huge heaviness and tiredness upon me, the only thing I could see was white, until in the distance I saw silhouettes slowly approaching me, I couldn't make them out until they almost passed by me, they were my battle companions, I recognized most of their faces, ponies I had seen die over the years, some too old, some too young, they were marching beside me in the direction of a place behind me and no matter how hard I tried, I could not turn around to see, their faces did not reflect any emotion and they did not look away from the front, as if something was calling them, I tried to shout at them, to talk to them, to say their names, but it was as if my voice did not reach them, not even I could hear it, and it just went on like that, they marched and marched without even noticing me, while I felt my hooves stuck to the ground and continued shouting in despair.... ” Bek paused and added “I think that's as close to a good dream as I've ever had.”

Twilight was dumbfounded, that sounded like a most horrible dream, she looked up only to see tears begin to form in Bek's eyes, tears that the mare quickly wiped away with one of her hooves.
Both were silent for a moment before Twilight spoke again.

“I'm so sorry.”

“Why, it's not your fault” Bek replied quizzically.

“It's just...” started Twilight ”It seems like your whole life has been hell, even your dreams aren't peaceful, all that pain, that's something no pony should ever experience.”

“Well...” said Bek looking up at the cave ceiling ”They were different times I guess, for me it was most common and for everyone else too, it was the only life we knew...”

“They deserve more” interrupts Twilight making Bek look at her again ”It's not fair that what their lives were remain in the shadows lost in time, they deserve to be remembered...!”

Bek couldn't help but smile heavily, letting out a big sigh again.

“Yes...I think you're right...”

“I promise you...” said Twilight again ”That I will do everything in my power to honor them as they deserve, everyone will know their story and everyone will know what they once were.”

Now it was Bek who was surprised, she did not expect the princess of friendship to commit to such a level with her little cause, the words that came out of her mouth sounded so sincere that the unicorn could not help but doubt for a second the veracity of them.
Finally and under Twilight's determined gaze, Bek decided to trust what her ears were hearing.

“If what you say is true, then I will follow you to the end or until I die...”

Those words shook Twilight, not so much because of the apparent final decision on Bek's part, but also because of the idea that during this journey they might die.

“Do you really think there is a risk of dying in doing this?” she asked with some fear.

“Of that I have no doubt” Bek answered directly ”In any other situation I would give you hope, some comfort that would assuage your fears, but you must understand that we are fighting goddesses, beings so ancient that they have seen the creation of the world as we know it, with them in the equation, dying is not a possibility, it is almost a certainty.”

Twilight fell silent, once again the complexity and grandeur of the situation hit her like a cart full of stones.
As Bek realized she ruined the moment with her certainty, she quickly looked for a way to reduce the weight of her words.

“Although, you're an alicorn too...” she started to finally say ”You're also a goddess, seems to me that gives us a hope.”

Twilight pondered for a second, she looked over her shoulder towards her wings, she couldn't help but think that, despite all the time she had been wearing them, she still hadn't quite gotten used to their presence, they still felt like a burden, something that shouldn't be there, something that went against her nature.

“But does it still count if I wasn't born as one?” asked Twilight curiously.

“What do you mean?” asked Bek quizzically.

“Yes What if I didn't get my power until much later in my life?”

Bek's face was now one of utter confusion, making Twilight feel worried.

“Aren't you...Celestia's daughter?”

The question made Twilight blush at the idea, it was absurd and she didn't know how Bek had come to that conclusion.

“Ehh..no..no..not me, I'm not her daughter, I'm her student...”

“So you were born as a normal pony!” Bek's voice reflected extreme concern, Twilight did her best to remain calm.

“Ehh yes, I was born as a unicorn...”

Bek stared blankly, her head spinning a thousand times, she pondered and remembered what Luna had told her when she confronted her in the throne room “That's not how it works anymore.”
It took her several minutes to be able to put her thoughts in order to resume her conversation.

“How exactly did you get your wings?” he asked earnestly.

Twilight tried to regain her composure trying not to imagine what Bek's concern might mean.

“I have...I managed to complete an old spell of Star Swirl the Bearded, saving my friends from an ailment related to their cutie marks, after that Celestia came to me and told me that I had demonstrated the necessary skills to acquire a higher power, and the next thing I knew I already had wings...”

Bek's eyes were wide open, she hadn't considered at all the possibility that Twilight Sparkle wasn't a real alicorn or at least, not a full one.

She quickly flashed his horn, pulling out the hilt of his sword, igniting it, in this case the magical blade materialized into a much smaller size than normal, making the sword into a small dagger.

“I need your hoof” Bek said firmly.

Twilight was taken aback, frightened for a moment due to a fleeting thought that Bek would attack her, but it didn't happen, she simply made the request and stared at him with her hoof extended towards her.

“What...what do you want it for?” asked Twilight in fright.

“Please...” began Bek ”This is very important, please trust me.”

It took a moment longer for the alicorn to comply with the mare's request, tentatively bringing her hoof closer until Bek took it firmly, making her startle.
The unicorn's hoof was icy cold and her grip felt as if a hydraulic press had closed on it.

“I'm going to give you a little cut okay...try not to move.”

Bek's words took Twilight by surprise, she barely noticed when the unicorn levitated her weapon and in less than a second she felt a twinge of pain that made her squirm a little.
The pain was fleeting, almost disappearing immediately due to the cleanness of the cut.

The only thing Twilight could feel now was the sensation of warm liquid trickling down the side of her hoof.

Bek then dropped the hilt to the ground, his eyes fixed on the wound he had just inflicted on Twilight, he could see a small trickle of blood welling up and slowly trickling down the shiny purple fur, red blood.

“No, don't fuck with me...” said Bek breathlessly.

“Why, what does it mean?” asked Twilight more than confused.

It took a moment for bek to be able to recover, finally raising her face to look directly at Twilight, the alicorn could see how Bek's face reflected deep surprise followed by resignation and then acceptance, finally the unicorn said the only words Twilight hoped she wouldn't have to hear of all that could be.

“It means we have a problem.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Celestia and Luna were standing in an autopsy room, both were staring in dismay at the center of the room where there was a cold metal table on which rested the mummified corpse of the nurse who took care of Fluttershy, her body was pale, beyond what should be possible, her skin was completely stuck to her bones, to the point that each one of them was visible and perfectly defined, her face was frozen in an expression of pure terror with her mouth wide open and her eyes sunken.

Both princesses were silent, they looked the body up and down, focusing more on the neck as it exhibited huge fang marks with a large chunk of flesh ripped off.

“How is it possible...?” asked Luna in shock.

“Perhaps an adverse reaction from my magic combined with the insect's venom” said Celestia without an ounce of feeling in her voice.

“Did you know that was a possibility?” asked Luna looking sternly at her sister.

“I thought maybe there might be some side effects from the connection but I never ever...”

“And how the fuck is it that you didn't take action on that!” asked Luna shouting in her older sister's face.

“And how the fuck was I supposed to know that the fucking pegasus blood was contaminated with vampire genes!”

Both sisters stood in silence, giving each other annoyed looks for a long moment until the sound of a heavy door behind them brought them out of their quarrel.

“Princesses...” said a pony dressed in a doctor's gown and cover-up ”Have you finished your assessment yet? We must transport the deceased to be identified by her relatives.”

“Oh yes!” exclaimed Celestia solemnly ”We have already finished please excuse the delay.”

“No problem princesses, it's good to see that you care about the lives of the ponies as much as we do” Said the doctor as he stepped aside leaving Celestia and Luna to leave the room quietly.

The princesses quietly exited the large palace infirmary, returning to the upper levels and walking through the corridors with no apparent fixed destination.

“What shall we do now?” asked Luna quietly, feigning a bit of concern for her sister but also with some real concern for Fluttershy's current state.

“Nothing, we won't do anything” replied Celestia coldly surprising Luna.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we'll pretend this didn't happen, hardly anyone knows that Fluttershy turned into a monster and escaped, we have to make sure it stays that way.”

Luna looked at her sister's face in disbelief, discovering that she was keeping her expression steady and looking straight ahead as she walked.

“Are you serious?” asked Luna.

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you seriously telling me that you want to cover up a murder that happened in the royal castle of Canterlot like it was nothing?”

“Well then what the fuck am I supposed to do?” Celestia gritted her teeth trying not to raise her voice too much.

“I want you to realize something you've been denying ever since Bek escaped from your cell..” Luna paused to force her sister to turn her head to look at her “And that is that you have lost control of the situation.”

Celestia paused markedly before replying.

“Thats bullshit, I haven't lost...” she started to say but was interrupted by Luna.

“Of course you did!” she exclaimed recovering her annoyed tone ”First with Bek's escape, then your stupid idea of going to interrogate Twilight, now she and her other friends have gone to who knows where, surely for fear of retaliation and now Fluttershy the only chip you had in your favor turned into a fucking vampire and murdered someone from the medical staff...” Luna paused for Celestia to take it all in, she wanted this, she wanted her older sister to get desperate, to get nervous, she wanted to make her hesitate so that she would make her make a mistake and then take advantage.

Celestia remained pensive for a long moment, struggling to remain calm and convincing herself that she could still fix it, finally regaining her calm and stoic expression and answering Luna calmly.

“Nothing to worry about sister, Bek's escape in conjunction with my visit to Twilight and her subsequent disappearance only confirmed that indeed that bitch managed to convince my student and her friends...” Celestia paused trying to contain her anger “The bitch is very clever, she surely took them so I couldn't get the information out of them about where she was, all I have to do is track them down and capture them...”

“And may I know how exactly you plan to accomplish that?” asked Luna trying to dissuade Celestia ”Are you planning to send simple royal guards? I don't think you are so delusional sister, you know perfectly well that, if what you say is true and Bek is with them, it will be impossible for the guards to capture them and bring them here, our current soldiers are, compared to Bek, a damn joke.”

Celestia remained thoughtful again, trying to find a solution to the very certain dilemma that her younger sister had just posed, it was a reality what she was saying, in so many centuries of simplifying and appeasing the pony society she had never required a military force like the one she had before, now almost all her militia were part time ponies half trained in basic combat arts and strategy, only very few were dedicated full time to the defense of the kingdom and even those were extremely deficient for Celestia's ancient standards.
She considered less orthodox ideas, such as hiring mercenaries or smugglers but they were no guarantee, besides that it added more complications than it solved, such as the price she would have to pay for the job not to mention that the hired ponies could coerce her in the very remote case that they managed to capture Twilight and her friends.
Her mind was on the verge of giving up when an idea finally brightened her thoughts, it was risky, much more than she had done so far, but she was absolutely sure that this one would give her the expected results.

“I've got it!” she said triumphantly.as she started walking with a determined step.

“What, what thing?” asked Luna following her sister, somewhat worried about her newly renewed excitement.

“We just have to dispose of the skills of the best pony hunters to ever set foot on this planet.”

It took Luna a long moment to understand what Celestia was referring to but, when she finally got it she couldn't help but feel a slight dread deep inside herself.

“You're not serious...” said luna in shock.

“Of course I am When have I ever not been serious?” Celestia was walking hurriedly through the halls in the direction of her room while Luna was doing her best to keep up with her.

“That's crazy sister, of all the ideas you could have had, we were never supposed to talk about this again or even mention it...”

“Oh come on sis, when we promised we knew we would never deliver, besides what the hell do you think I collected them for if I didn't plan on ever using them?”

Luna was dumbfounded at Celestia's lack of prudence, it was something completely absurd, dangerous and unnecessarily drastic.

“For the love of our mother Celestia are you even listening to what you're saying? You don't even have a way to control them, you would unleash a wave of senseless death and slaughter...”

“Oh that's what you think sis...” interrupted Celestia ”I knew that was a big inconvenience so I set about the task of solving it while you were gone.”

“What the fuck are you talking about...?” asked Luna.

“Sure it wasn't an easy thing, it took me several tries and I lost several subjects during the research, but an old student of mine Sunset Shimmer, by the way a very ambitious pony who I think you would have liked, helped me to finally get the project completed and provided me with a safe and easy way to control, not only those things, but any creature in existence as well.”

Luna was speechless, she didn't like where this was going at all.

“But since there was no longer any reason to use them I simply shelved the project, until now...”

The two finally arrived at Celestia's room, the latter opened the doors with her magic, rushing inside followed by her little sister.
Celestia began rummaging through her bookshelves, her drawers and trunks, she pulled things out quickly stacking them behind her with her magic.

“Most of them stayed in my old lab, but I wanted to keep the original prototype, as a souvenir you know, obviously the final version is more elegant and proper but...” Celestia finally turned to Luna excitedly showing her a strange contraption.

This looked like a thick necklace of polished metal, it was opaque gray with a large red gem in the center, Luna could see how the inside of the necklace was filled with inscriptions and runes of different sizes and a couple of wires could be seen fused to the inside.

“What the fuck is that Celestia?” Luna spoke dumbfounded, she could already deduce what it was about but she didn't want to say it, she wanted to hear it from her sister's mouth.

“This my dear...” Celestia said triumphantly “It's the solution to all our problems.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Starlight was in her office at the friendship school, her desk was littered with unfinished paperwork and Starlight herself looked like she hadn't slept in a long time, with pronounced dark circles under her eyes, unkempt mane and a few ink stains on her fur.

She was pacing back and forth with her gaze lost on the floor and mumbling unintelligible things, her disturbing spectacle was interrupted by the sound of her door opening.

“Starlight, sorry to bother you, I just wanted to ask about...” Sunburst entered the room and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the state of his friend who stared at him with her eyes sunken and filled with anguish.

“Ehh Starlight...are you all right?”

“Of course I'm fine!” exclaimed the unicorn in an overly loud tone ”Why wouldn't I be?”

“Ehh well...” began Sunburst ”It's just that you look kind of...haggard...”

“Pfff haggard? Me? I don't know why you think that...” Starlight walked awkwardly to her desk, sitting down awkwardly in her chair and starting to shuffle through the paperwork, pretending to check it “See? I'm working diligently just like I promised Twilight I would to keep her school running.”

Sunburst approached and looked at the papers Starlight was holding.

“Working filling out papers that were due six weeks ago?” asked the unicorn raising an eyebrow.

Starlight looked at the date on the papers realizing that Sunburst was right, sighing defeated the unicorn lowered her head heavily.

“Ahg you're right, I'm sorry Sunburst, it's just...”

“Can't stop thinking about Twilight?” term the wizard.

“Yes..” replied Starlight ”No matter how much I try to hold on to the words she said and the promise she made, deep down I know things are not going to turn out well, it's a...feeling, in my bones that tells me something very bad is going to happen and Twilight is not ready to face it, not alone...”

“But she's not alone...” Sunburst started to say “ She's with her friends and that strange pony...” Sunburst thought for a second about how bad that last one sounded “Well that pony she seems to be very strong.”

“That's exactly what I'm worried about” Starlight replied intriguing Sunburst.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, despite everything we've already seen and all the evidence we've been presented with, I still can't believe what that pony said...” the unicorn was silent for a moment, feeling guilty about her own doubts ”I, I just can't, it's something...”

“Impossible...” concluded Sunburst, surprising Starlight to no end ”I know, I can't believe it either, it's just that you think about it and it sounds absolutely ridiculous, there's no way that story is real.”

“And yet there was a huge monster buried in the depths of the castle that tore Fluttershy's leg off, yet Celestia appeared out of nowhere, bullied Twilight, hurt Spike and took our friend to her castle without any explanation...”

Sunburst was quiet for a second, she looked at her friend, her face reflected uncertainty but also a deep determination.

“Yes, that's what doesn't fit...” the stallion finally said ”And then...what's left for us to do?”

“We must help her, Twilight, her friends, we must help them.”

“But how? We have nothing to help with, no proof beyond the word of that unicorn” Sunburst spoke with a tone of resignation in his voice, he didn't think there was anything to do.

“You're right we don't have any proof now, that's why we need to get more.”

“More proof, how exactly are we going to do that? If what that pony says is true, any minimally conclusive evidence was lost over three and a half thousand years ago...”

Exactly!” replied Starlight firmly ”There is no proof left at present but that doesn't mean we can't, get, more proof!”

Sunburts was beginning to understand where Starlight's proposal was going but the idea seemed crazy to him.

“What do you mean Starlight?”

“I mean maybe, we should take a trip.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Starlight and Sunburst were in the throne room of the friendship castle, in the company of Spike, Trixie and Maud Pie, the two unicorns had finished explaining the whole plan to them and were now anxiously waiting for an answer, Spike was the first to speak.

“So...you want to go back in time to the date indicated by Bek to check if his story is true?”

“And...” began Starlight ”In the event that it is, bring enough evidence to convince the pony society of the truth.”

“Yes you know that sounds like total madness right?” asked Trixie very confused ”In fact the great and powerful Trixie doesn't even know who they are talking about Who is this Bek person and why did she give them a date to time travel?”

Starlight and Sunburst looked at each other.

“There's no time to catch them up...!” Sunburst began.

“He's right..” continued Starlight ”No matter why or how Twilight is in danger and she needs all the help she can get for what's coming.”

“You can count on me Starlight” replied Spike immediately.

“Thank you Spike...” began the unicorn ”But I can't let you come with us.”

“What, why not!” asked the dragon annoyed.

“You're too small, besides we don't know how the relationship with the dragons was back then, we might put you in danger.”

“But, I want to help!”

“And you will, I need you here to make sure we get back...”

Spike was taken aback at the strange request.

“What do you mean...haven't you time traveled before...aren't you supposed to come back whenever you want?”

“Not in this case Spike, that occasion I traveled only a few years into the past, this time we must travel centuries, the return spell must be cast from our present time.”

“But how am I supposed to do that? I'm not a unicorn nor do I have magic of any kind.”

“You don't need to cast the spell...” began Sunburst, flashing his horn he pulled a strange carved crystal from between his cloak ”Starlight and I imbued this crystal with the return spell, all you have to do is activate it when we tell you to.”

“And how do you know when to activate it?” said Spike as the unicorn handed him the crystal.

“When we are ready to return we will send a magical signal, at which point the crystal will flash and you will know what to return to us” Starlight said coming closer.

“All you need to do is place the crystal right in the center of the friendship map table and we will reappear immediately” Sunburst concluded.

“Do you understand how important a task we are asking of you Spike?” asked Starlight kneeling down to look at the dragon directly ”Without you we will be trapped in a hypothetical past so violent and dangerous that we may not possibly survive can I count on you to return us safely home?”

The dragon looked at the unicorn for a moment, his gaze full of seriousness and determination, he reflected for a moment on the last words Twilight had said to him before he left “Please take care of everyone for me” and so, there was no more doubt in him.

“You can count on me Starlight” he said standing firm and giving a salute.

“Excellent” said the unicorn as she stood up and turned to the other two ponies ”Well now all that's left is to ask you guys if you're willing to join us...”

Maud and Trixie exchanged glances.

“Well...” began Trixie ”Not that I'm not flattered by your particular interest in the great and powerful Trixie going with you on a most dangerous and treacherous journey but, it seems to me that this is not the kind of adventure Trixie is prepared for...”

“Trixie...” Starlight began “I know it's not what any of us are used to, but this is a mission of utmost importance and we need all the help we can get...”

“But why the great and powerful Trixie? Why not a more capable pony? I don't know, someone more qualified, someone who can fight...” Trixie paused and lowered her drooping head “Maybe someone more skilled in magic than the great and powerful Trixie?”

Starlight approached her friend, placing a hoove on her chin and lifting her up to look at her.

“Trixie, this thing we are going to do will possibly completely change the world we know forever, we are talking about a secret so big and horrible that it would make all the ponies in Equestria panic and everything go into chaos, that's why we must keep it in the utmost secrecy until we can prove it's true, that's why I can only trust you for this mission, because you are my best friends and I would trust you with my life.”

Trixie was dumbfounded, her friend was being more sincere than she had been since they had met, she saw reflected in her eyes the importance of this mission and saw how each of the words she said seemed to be spoken from the purest and absolute honesty.
Just as she was about to gather her thoughts to speak Maud interrupted.

“I will go.”

Everyone turned to look at the earth pony.

“Really?” asked Starlight in surprise.

“Yes, my sister came to me the night before she left, crying and mumbling, she told me all about it.”

“Really?” asked Starlight in surprise ”And why didn't you tell us?”

“I was too shocked” said Maud blinking slowly ”I thought it was something too crazy even for Pinkie Pie, but now that you confirm to me that what she said is true I have no choice but to agree to help.”

“But...if you know it could be true why do you want to come?” asked Starlight.

“Because you said Twilight is in danger, ergo, Pinkie Pie is in danger, if there is anything I can do to help her I will do it without hesitation.”

They all fell silent at the expressionless look on Maud's face which only slowly blinked again.

“Thank you Maud” Starlight finally said.

“In that case the great and powerful Trixie will also go...” spoke Trixie suddenly ”If it's that important to all of Equestria, then there's no need to hesitate, besides, Trixie has always wanted to time travel”

Starlight stepped back for a second and saw everyone in the room, all friends of hers who, despite the terrible threats they now faced, remained loyal to her.
The unicorn couldn't help but feel her eyes water slightly, she truly loved each and every one of them.

“Alright, we're ready then.”

They all stood around the friendship map table as Spike watched from the side, they exchanged determined and concerned glances one last time before nodding and looking at Starlight who began to shine her horn.

“Alright, here we go” Starlight's magic began to spread in the direction of the mane six thrones, illuminating the cutie marks carved into them, the glow bounced towards the center of the table where it combined into a large swirl that slowly descended beginning to cover the ponies.

Just as the glitter was about to hit the ground Starlight heard a voice come from outside the swirl.

“Good luck!” shouted Spike as he hugged the piece of magic crystal tightly.

Starlight looked at the little dragon for a moment and gave him a smile.

“See you soon Spike!”

And in an instant there was a flash of light and the ponies disappeared leaving Spike alone in the room.

To be continued...