Forgotten Cometby Misty ShadowChaptersTale of the Twin StarsFriends Are Never ForgottenDestinies MeetThe Seventh ElementComet Will Always Be RememberedTale of the Twin StarsLet your magic run wild… If you could only see everything you could be, you would spend your whole life shining… These were the words Izzy Moonbow and her friends sang inside of a karaoke place on that fateful night at the Boardtrot, where said amusement park was created by the magic of the Nova Charm. An unintended consequence of this was Allura and her pet, Twitch, being left unable to return to Starlight Ridge after the Nova Charm had been split into pieces. However, it wasn’t just the enemies of our heroes who would suffer because of this turn of events…but one of their friends… Somehow, our heroes have forgotten their friend from Starlight Ridge… Comet. How have our heroes forgotten Comet…and where is he? The universe knows…not just about why Comet has been forgotten and where he is…but also how his destiny ties in with an ancient legend…the legend of the Forgotten Comet. The story of the legend and how it relates to Comet is complicated, but understanding it is essential in order to see how events of the future will unfold… Three nights after the night of the Boardtrot’s creation… One night at the Boardtrot, Izzy was standing beside a pony who looked exactly like Comet as she and her friends were looking up at the sky with serious expressions on their faces. A comet was approaching them. It was the Forgotten Comet, a fearsome enemy of the Auroricorns. “Now is the time to light up the sky…” Izzy spoke with full sincerity. She and her friends fully intended to bring about the end of the long, destructive cycle this comet had brought about. Now that they knew how much pain it had caused someone close to them, this matter was personal. They believed that they could finally bring an end to the story of the legend through giving this tale of twin stars a happy ending… This is how the story of the legend goes… Long, long ago, Starlight Ridge faced a great calamity. The small, snowy, starry village was facing a threat far greater than Allura. A comet created from an overwhelmingly powerful amalgamation of dark, corrupted energy was set to crash into their land and cause terrible destruction. The Auroricorns could not stop the comet with their magic alone, and so, the leader of their village and the most powerful magic user in the land had to create a spell unlike any other in order to save them. A terrifying price had to be paid, however. This spell didn’t just demand the life of its user in exchange for the power it would grant them…it would also effectively erase them from existence, eradicating their identity. The comet threatening the village was no ordinary comet that could be destroyed by conventional means, thus the village leader had to come up with a creative solution that unfortunately came with a brutal cost. The village leader was able to communicate with the universe and discover that the reason for this calamity was because of an upset in the world’s balance of dark energy and light energy. The principles of Yin and Yang dictated that this dark force of destruction, the comet, needed to be complemented by an equally powerful force of light and creation. Destruction could not be destroyed by destruction, thus it needed something to merge with it and recreate it. Thus, the village leader used the spell she made in order to fuse her entire being, body, mind, and soul, with the comet, creating a balance of Yin and Yang. Once she was one with the comet, only existing as a ball of dark and light spiritual energy, she was sent into deep space. Not wanting her subjects to be overwhelmed with grief over her loss, she designed the spell to erase all memories of the user from the minds of those who knew them. Being a proud and studious magic user, she chose to have her memory live on through her spells. To preserve her legacy and prevent a catastrophe like the one she had stopped from happening in the future, she left behind a book of spells for her successor, the next leader of Starlight Ridge, to study and practice. This book is also what tells us the story of the legend, its title being… Forgotten Comet. Comet had been told this story ever since he was a colt…and it always filled him with questions. He had his own copy of the book that he would diligently read, seeking to find answers to the questions he had. He could never understand why the village leader would go so far as to have all memories of her erased or bring himself to believe that the sacrifice of a pony’s existence was the only way to stop the comet. She would’ve also been erasing memories of her from the minds of her loved ones…what kind of terms was she on with her family? He always felt that there was something the village leader was missing…something that every pony who read the story was missing…and part of the reason why he came to Equestria was to find that something. For it was when he met Izzy and her friends that he felt a premonition. He immediately sensed a love for creativity within Izzy that touched his devoted soul…she and her friends ignited a spark in him that had him feeling like they could help him find what everyone else missed… However, the more Comet looked for that thing he thought every pony missed after he came to Equestria, the more he understood the mindset of the village leader who stopped the comet. Just like her, he became able to communicate with the universe, learning new information that horrified him and made him want to distance himself from his friends, not wanting them to get dragged into danger. He discovered that the comet that threatened his village all those moons ago…had actually been a recurring phenomenon. The village leader had not just erased the memories of her subjects for personal reasons…but to try and stop the comet’s return. She discovered the magic of willpower in her conversations with the universe, how things can happen because of what ponies will. With ponies mourning her loss and wanting her back, they would also be unknowingly wishing for the comet to come back, for her existence was now one with the comet’s. What the village leader didn’t know, however, was that the existence of a pony could not truly be erased. Even with her identity gone, the ponies still remembered her deep down in their subconscious minds. Subconsciously, they willed for her return, making the return of the comet inevitable. Another thing the village leader didn’t know was that she had inadvertently created an endless cycle through the way she had stopped the comet while leaving behind a record of the spell she used to do it. When the comet she became inexorably returned and threatened Starlight Ridge once more, the new village leader stopped it using her spell…but in turn, became one with the comet. The successor the new village leader had chosen would meet the same fate when the comet returned, and so on. The Auroricorns had become ensnared in an infinite loop, a loop Comet was more determined than ever to break once he learned of its most recent victim…a family member of his… “UUUWWWAAA!!!” Comet cried out in despair upon being given this devastating revelation by the universe. Learning of the tragedy his kind were bound to was hard enough on him, and now, he had to bear the weight of the tragedy that had stricken his own family. It was this revelation that made him feel like he and the first village leader to stop the comet had some kind of special connection… Someone in his family had been a powerful magic user. They shared the same cutie mark as him, something possible for Auroricorns with them being a special breed of ponies that had magically evolved, and had been deemed worthy of becoming the next possessor of the Nova Charm and the next leader of Starlight Ridge. Like Comet, this relative of his wanted to break the cycle the Auroricorns were trapped in and was doing extensive research to find a way. Although he ultimately ended up having to use the fusion spell in the book to stop the comet, he had come up with theories on how it worked and other ways it could be stopped while doing his research. The universe told Comet of the theories his relative had come up with after restoring his memories of him, but unfortunately, testing them would prove to be difficult. To complicate matters further, Comet learned that the soon approaching comet was strangely not set to strike Starlight Ridge this time, but Maretime Bay… “WHAT?!” Comet impulsively cried in concern and shock upon learning this. At the time he had found out about this, it was late at night, and he immediately put his front hooves around his mouth, worrying that he might have woken someone up. Comet lived in a room on the first floor of the Crystal Brighthouse with his friends. However, ever since he had discovered the truth about the Forgotten Comet, he had been casting memory-erasing spells left behind in the book by the village leader who first stopped the comet to make his friends forget about him as a way to protect them, not wanting them to be crushed by his heavy burden. Comet waited for a while, and after hearing no reaction to his cry, breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry, every pony…” he said remorsefully in thought as he returned to researching ways to break the cycle of the Forgotten Comet, something he had been doing around the clock in his room ever since he learned of the dreadful loop. “You may be my friends, but this kind of threat is on a completely different scale than what we had to face together back in Starlight Ridge with Allura stealing the Nova Charm. This threat has never been stopped without a sacrifice before and even if I succeeded in stopping it without sacrificing myself…there’s no guarantee I’d ever see him as his true self again…” By “him”, Comet was referring to the relative he had lost. His only hope of seeing him as the pony he knew again was a theory his relative had formulated about what happens to the souls of the Auroricorns who become the Forgotten Comet after another Auroricorn sacrifices their existence to become the new comet. He believed that the soul of the original comet would not merge with the soul of the new one, continuing to have no personal identity, but become a star in space with its identity restored if it wasn’t already regained. The reason he believed this tied in to what he believed about a reason why the comet would always return besides the magic of willpower. He believed this reason was because the soul of the heroic Auroricorn that became the comet, its good-natured light energy, had to eventually leave it. Knowing this, the Forgotten Comet would seek out a new source of light energy before that soul would depart in order to maintain its stability. Having special magic tied to luminous phenomena, Comet knew with certainty even before communicating with the universe that the souls of ponies could become stars in the sky or make them grow brighter by becoming darkness in space. He wanted to confirm the theory his relative postulated by asking the universe what happened to the souls of the Auroricorns who stopped the Forgotten Comet in the past. However, the universe refused to divulge this information, asserting that there are only certain things it can reveal to certain ponies. The reason it told him what it did and restored his memories of his lost relative, hastening the comet’s return, was because it believed that its inhabitants were now able to permanently stop the comet. What the universe did tell him though in an attempt to attenuate his suffering was that he would see the relative the Forgotten Comet took from him whole again, a secret about the universe making his restoration possible. Not only that, but if he proved himself to be a truly righteous soul, he would shine brighter than ever before alongside his best friend… “My best friend, huh…” a dejected Comet now thought as he remembered this promise from the universe that wasn’t filling him with the same feeling of wonder it once did. “I wonder who exactly the universe was referring to... Regardless, when all this is done, will any pony I’ve ever known even remember me?” Comet looked out a window by a desk he had been sitting at with all the notes of research he had compiled on it. Drawn on some of his notes were sketches of crystals, one particular drawing showing six colored jewels and a gray stone, and sketches of stars, stars he could see shining brightly outside. He then saw two stars that had an especially radiant glow appear as if they were dancing around the moon… “Is this…a sign?” he asked himself curiously, remembering another thing the universe had told him... “Just like in ancient times, the stars will aid in an escape…I wonder…if I really do succeed in bringing him back…maybe it will help me find my element. If I do that, maybe I truly can shine…” While Comet’s attention was captured by a sight he believed could be prophesying his fate, other things that would determine his fate were already being set in motion… Something purple could be seen glowing in the sky that caused a light to shine in the purple stone embedded in the star-shaped accessory hanging from his horn. Also, upstairs, Izzy, sleeping soundly, had heard Comet’s earlier cry in a dream. In this dream, she was told the same secret of the universe Comet was told as she conversed with the soul of a star... “Heh heh, what…” she said teasingly, talking in her sleep. “You’d be surprised by what even something as simple as a song performed by true friends can do…” She would soon be changed forever… Author's Note Although I unfortunately can not list Comet as a character with him sadly still not having a character tag yet, he's very much the main character of this story. Friends Are Never ForgottenComet continued to look out at the sky before fatigue from the nonstop work he had been doing eventually overtook him. The languid Auroricorn submitted to his body’s desire for rest and slumped over on his desk, falling asleep. He then began to dream, his mind imagining himself submerged in total darkness… “Ugh…” he grunted in the dream. “What’s going on?” He attempted to move his legs, but to no avail. “I can’t move my body…” he told himself in concern as something he could feel caused that concern of his to grow. “And I feel…anger…intense jealousy…hate…but these can’t be my emotions…wait, what’s this?” All of a sudden, Comet could see something getting closer and closer in his field of vision…it was the sight of Izzy Moonbow, her friends, and a pony who looked just like him giving him a serious glare… “What in the…?!” Comet said in shock upon seeing the pony who resembled him. “Is that pony me?! How can that be me when I’m right here?! Unless it’s…him…” Comet then saw a magical aura exuding from Izzy and the others and heard a soothing melody that caused something in him to feel relaxed. His field of vision then went completely white as he saw nothing but bright light… “AAAHHH!” he yelled, awakening from his dream. Instinctively, he put his front hooves on his mouth just like he had done last night. This time, however, his cry had gotten the attention of his friends, who were not far away from him, getting ready for breakfast in the other room. Izzy, always excited for Sunny Starscout’s pancake breakfasts, had her once cheerful expression become one of surprise. “That voice…” she thought, feeling a premonition. “What was that noise?” Sunny asked in concern, having just placed a plate of pancakes she had made on the table in the kitchen. “Sounds like it came from the guest room by the attic…” Hitch Trailblazer answered, eying said room. “Looks like it’s time for an early morning investigation!” Zipp Storm proclaimed with glee. “NO!” Comet shouted in his mind, hearing what his friends had said and the sound of them approaching the room he was in. Zipp then attempted to open the door, only to find that it was locked, the way Comet always left it. “Hmm…” she said curiously. “That’s strange…why would the guest room be locked from the inside? We’ve not had any guests over recently…” “Not guests…” Izzy chimed in. “But a friend of ours has been living here lately…” “WHAT?!” Comet cried in his mind in fear. “Oh no, don’t tell me…” “Friend of ours?” Pipp Petals inquired. “Are you talking about Señor Butterscotch?” “Nah, Señor Butterscotch’s always been living with us, he’s listed as a permanent resident.” Izzy blankly replied. “The friend I’m talking about is a blue Auroricorn who likes to study, trips over himself a lot, and knows how to make really good cocoa!” “Urraa!” Sparky, whom Hitch was holding, exclaimed in delight. Comet couldn’t believe what he had just heard Izzy say. “SHE KNOWS?!” he continued speaking frantically in thought. “But I’ve been casting spells to make them forget about me! Does Izzy have some kind of special power that makes her more resistant to memory loss magic?!” “So…what’s his name?” Misty Brightdawn asked curiously. “That’s the one thing I don’t remember…” Izzy replied with a hoof to her chin. “However, another blue Auroricorn was in this weird dream I had last night about space. In it, that blue Auroricorn, who was nothing like the blue Auroricorn I just told you about, having a totally different sparkle, was with me at an amusement park that was somehow in space with all these brilliant laser lights and this cool laser cannon! He said the universe would only allow him to say certain things, but he was able to tell me about these special crystals that could make ponies remember long forgotten memories and let me in on one of the universe’s biggest secrets!” Upon hearing that, Comet was in a state of extreme disbelief, his mind being forced to process this completely unexpected turn of events. “It can’t be…” he thought to himself, flabbergasted. “Does she mean…did he…if his theories are true, that’s beyond amazing! However…does that mean everything I’ve done to make my friends forget about me…been for naught?” Like Izzy, he too felt a premonition… “Even though the memory spells are not foolproof…could it be that the reason Izzy can still remember what she does about me not be because she has a special power that makes her resistant to the spells I’ve been casting…but because her destiny is intertwined with mine? Is she the one that...” Comet then lowered his head in dismay, feeling foolish. “If that’s the case…” he said defeatedly in thought. “There’s no use hiding anymore…first the comet now targeting Maretime Bay and now this…it’s time to come clean…” He then unlocked the door and opened it, just as Zipp was about to inquire about the dream. “Special crystals? Secret of the universe? Can you rememb…WOAH…” She and the rest of her friends turned to face a disheveled Comet with looks of shock on their faces. “Um…with all due respect, sir…” she continued talking, now speaking to Comet. “Who are you and what in the hay are you doing here?” Comet then cast a spell to undo the effects of his memory loss magic. “W-wait a second…” every pony besides Comet said. “…COMET?! What’s going on here?!” “I’ll explain what happened over breakfast…” a distraught Comet answered, trotting towards the kitchen as his friends could hear his stomach growling. “I’ve not eaten in a while…” All of his friends shared looks of concern with each other before they peered into his room. “Hoofness gracious…” Misty reacted in shock, the sight of it making her tremble. “This reminds me of my room when I lived in Opaline’s lair…” The rest of the group was also taken aback by how Comet’s room looked. There were no posters on the wall, there was no bed with only a pillow and a blanket lying on the floor where one should have been, and no trinkets or accessories Comet had a penchant for in sight. The only thing to observe in the room that gave it any kind of personality was the desk Comet worked at, having an assortment of notes, sketches, writing utensils, and books on top of it. Comet’s copy of Forgotten Comet was not among these books, however. He had brought it to the Brighthouse from Starlight Ridge, but had made sure it was put in a desk drawer he had locked with a spell he had cast. “Oh my glitter…” Pipp said in astonishment. “This place is #Drab! This room would be number one on my top ten list of places that need a makeover!” As Pipp flew in the room and began taking pictures with her phone, Zipp and Hitch glanced over at the desk before looking at each other. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Hitch told her. “Totally.” Zipp replied. “We do what my sister’s doing, but for investigative purposes…” Soon, all of Comet’s friends went to join him at the table for breakfast. Comet was sitting in one of the seven chairs at the table where a stack of pancakes on a plate laid in front of him alongside six other plates of pancakes by the other chairs. As soon as he saw his friends approaching the table, he asked Sunny what had been on his mind since he had seen all the pancakes she had made… “Did you make one of these stacks of pancakes for me?” “Yes…” Sunny answered in a slightly abashed tone, still trying to grow accustomed to what was happening. “I’ve been making an extra stack every morning for a while now actually…feels strange to finally learn the reason why…” “So you really didn’t forget me…” Comet replied, his tone conveying the mixed emotions he was feeling, dissatisfied with the shortcomings of his magic but also happy that his friends really did care about him. “Of course not.” Sunny bluntly replied as she and her other friends sat down at the table. “I don’t know what kind of magic you cast on us, but know that no magic is stronger than the magic of friendship.” “I wonder about that…” Comet retorted, having resolved to at least disclose minor details about what was going on with his friends. “The reason I did what I did is because we’re being threatened by a force that has plagued my kind for ages. It’s a force far stronger than Allura, and even our friendship only narrowly defeated her.” “What is it?!” Sunny asked with great concern that was shared by her friends. “It’s a magical comet that comes to inflict destruction upon Starlight Ridge time after time…” Comet explained in a despondent tone of voice. “And no pony has ever been able to stop it completely, not even the most powerful Auroricorns of all at the cost of their lives. I cast spells on all of you because I didn’t want to get you involved…I didn’t want you to have to experience the pain of losing me forever…” It was then that Comet began to cry, leading his friends to want to cry as well, feeling great compassion for their friend. “Oh, Comet…” Sunny said sorrowfully, coming over to her friend to give him a hug. “We feel nothing but sympathy for you for what you’ve been going through…but you have to be willing to trust us. Being forgotten is worse than dying. We want you to be fully remembered and live on in our hearts to the fullest.” “Do…do you really mean that?” a stunned Comet asked, feeling flattered. “I mean, we haven’t known each other that long…” “You don’t have to be well-acquainted with a pony for them to leave a lasting impact on you.” Sunny told him serenely. “Sometimes, you find that even the simplest things ponies do can be unforgettable…” “Hey…” Izzy interjected. “This reminds me of another part of my dream. I was telling a pony who looked just like Comet about how even a simple song could have great power if it was performed by true friends…” After hearing this remark, Comet felt another alarm bell go off in his mind… “You have to be joking…” he thought to himself in utter shock as his mind flashed back to the dream he had. “It’s not just Izzy my destiny is intertwined with…it’s all of them. That must be why the comet is coming to Maretime Bay! Our connection can’t be changed…but I still must protect them…and that pony…I know for sure now…” “Every pony…” Comet solemnly addressed his friends. “I’m sorry for my misguided attempt at protecting you, but there’s something I must do when breakfast is over. I have to go on a trip.” “A trip to where?” Sunny asked curiously. “Are you going back to Starlight Ridge to help protect the Auroricorns from the comet? If so, we want to come with you!” “I’m not going back to Starlight Ridge.” Comet answered bluntly. “The trip I’m going on is to a place I need to go to in Maretime Bay so that I can confirm something.” “…Alright then.” Sunny replied with a hint of uncertainty in her tone of voice. “But if you need to use the Nova Charm, please tell us first so that we can tag along and help.” “Of course…” Comet replied in a monotone voice, something that made his friends suspicious. “You know, I’ve been thinking about using the Nova Charm to go to an amusement park ever since I had that dream!” Izzy exclaimed, trying her best to be her usual effervescent self as to not make Comet suspect them in turn. “Why don’t I go get it as soon as we’re done eating?” “That’s a great idea, Izzy!” Zipp declared supportively, also trying to talk as naturally as possible. “I second that.” Comet chimed in, slightly surprising his friends. “After all, there’s something about the Nova Charm I wanted to confirm…” Despite Izzy and the others finding Comet having no objection to the proposal strange, she still went to acquire the Nova Charm as soon as breakfast was over. Once she brought it to her friends, something peculiar happened…the cutie marks of her and her friends besides Comet began to glow. “What the…?!” every pony except for Comet reacted in shock. “I knew it!” Comet cried in his mind. “The Nova Charm is now connected to their elements!” Comet then took advantage of his friends being caught off guard by what was happening with their cutie marks to cast a spell that would make his friends forget what he had told them about the Forgotten Comet. To keep them from following him, he left them with the memory of him saying he was going on a trip. He then cast a teleportation spell in quick succession while uttering the following in his mind… “Universe…take me to where you intend to take Izzy!” With a flash of light, he was gone. None of his friends remembered anything from the conversation they had with him besides what he allowed them to remember. “Hey, what…?” Sunny asked in confusion, putting a hoof to her head. “I can’t remember our conversation right…why would he just take off for his trip like that?” “He must have cast another one of those memory loss spells on us…” Zipp said as she mused about the situation at hand. “But why only erase our memories of most of that conversation this time?” “He must feel that there’s no need to erase our memories of him anymore…” Hitch suggested. “The question is, what changed his mind?” “Hmm…” Zipp hummed to herself as she pulled out her phone and looked over the photos she and Hitch had taken in Comet’s bedroom. “I wonder…oh?” Zipp then noticed that one of the sketches she had photographed showed six colored crystals and an arrow from them pointing at something that looked like the Nova Charm and had a question mark beside it. There was also a seventh gray stone with a question mark on it below. “I have a theory…” she stated as she gave the Nova Charm a foreboding look. “This sketch seems to indicate he hypothesized about the Nova Charm being linked to these special crystals…elements. And he cast spells to make us forget something big we talked about and to teleport away after Izzy brought the Nova Charm here…” “I think I get it now…” Hitch interjected in realization as he looked over at his cutie mark and saw that it was still glowing. “He thinks there’s no stopping us getting involved in his business now. He’s learned some powerful magic, memory spells and teleportation…I wonder if we could discover magic like that now too…” “Regardless, let’s leave him be for now.” Izzy interjected solemnly. “The universe will naturally bring us together soon…I can feel it…” Her friends felt a similar premonition… Meanwhile, Comet had teleported himself close to the last place Izzy would use the Nova Charm to teleport to in her quest to cure herself of the Blockywockys, a place close to the Boardtrot. “There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind anymore…” Comet remarked to himself as he looked out at the abandoned amusement park from a hill. “I will bring him back. This is where our destinies will meet…” Author's Note Things get real in the next chapter... Destinies MeetComet then turned his attention to the sky, still thinking about how the destinies of all the ponies on his mind would meet here… “I’ve made up my mind…” he said solemnly. “I’m going to make the same sacrifice you made. Back then, it should’ve been me, not you…” Comet proceeded to enter a meditative state, sitting down with his back legs crossed and putting his front hooves together. After spending some time in this state, he was able to feel the same anger, jealousy, and hate he could feel in the dream he had the night before and soon discovered the source of it. “So these negative emotions are coming from the darkness of the Forgotten Comet…and vengeful souls inside it…” he told himself in realization. “I can feel that there’s one soul that’s long forgotten its identity brimming with far more animosity than all the others though residing at the comet’s core…and one with a sense of identity possessing far less…could that be him?” As Comet focused his attention on the soul he felt the least hate radiating from, words from the universe echoed through his mind… “You will save them all…darkness is what drives them to you…because while they’re only subconsciously aware of it, they know you can even save the first victim of the darkness, holding the potential to learn to strike with the force and speed of a comet. You should expect the unexpected though…and know that the first victim…he and the village leader are just like you and him.” Upon hearing these words, Comet became ever more motivated to stop the Forgotten Comet and began charging magic in his horn… “Two days from now…” he said in thought with great determination. “I can tell from the aura of the comet and the rate at which it’s intensifying that it will come towards where I am and be within striking range of my magic in two days…” Comet was ready to enact what he had been planning. He’d use the fusion spell, then make his move before the fusion was fully complete. He had thought long and hard about what he needed to do differently from the Auroricorns who had stopped the comet before him and eventually came to the conclusion that the answer lied in the stars, thus why he had drawn sketches of them on his notes. An Auroricorn’s magic grew more powerful when coming into contact with a star that was once a pony. Whether or not his lost relative’s theories were true, there was at least one soul inside the comet that could become a star…and since that soul was the soul of his lost relative, the two could combine their magic to recreate the comet into something that would never return to cause destruction again… “This is it…” Comet thought to himself confidently. “In two days, I promise you, my flesh and blood…this is where you will be reborn!” However, unbeknownst to Comet when he had made that vow, his relative would be reborn sooner than that, shortly before meeting his friends... While he did know that the universe intended to bring Izzy here and that his destiny was intertwined with the destinies of his friends, he had no way of knowing exactly how things would play out. He believed the way their destinies would be intertwined was through his memory living on through the elements and his reborn relative, believing the power of the elements could transcend the power of the terrible effect of the spell he planned to use to stop the Forgotten Comet, the effective erasure of one’s existence. He’d hoped that Izzy and her friends would simply come to the abandoned amusement park, discover what the universe had brought Izzy and, in turn, her friends there for, and leave. What would transpire though would be much different… The next morning, at the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy began experiencing creative block, believing the cause of said creative block to be “the Blockwockys”. The actual cause of her creative block was a side effect of Comet’s memory loss magic, but being unaware of that, she used the Nova Charm to go on her journey across Equestria seeking a cure to what she believed was the cause. Eventually, she found herself at the abandoned amusement park, where the Nova Charm split into six pieces that were placed in six slots around the park’s attractions. After its magic transformed the place into the Boardtrot. Izzy’s friends joined her at the Boardtrot just before the Nova Charm broke apart, a reaction to the magic of her and her friends’ cutie marks. Something purple then glowed in the sky… Once this had happened, Comet felt the energy around him shift… “Huh?” he reacted in surprise in thought. “What’s going on? This magical energy…it reminds me of…the energy I felt in my dream…are all my friends at that amusement park?” After some time had passed, Comet felt the Forgotten Comet’s energy shift too… “Something’s off…” he said with concern in his mind. “It doesn’t feel like the comet is heading towards me anymore…from what I feel, it’s changing course…moving faster…heading towards the source of that magical energy…OH. NO.” All at once, Comet realized what was going on and became more scared than he had ever been in his life… “THE FORGOTTEN COMET IS GOING TO DESTROY MY FRIENDS!” he cried in terror in his mind. “I WON’T BE ABLE TO HIT IT FROM HERE WITH MY MAGIC NOW THAT IT’S CHANGED ITS PATH AND IS HEADING TOWARDS THEM AT THAT SPEED! I HAVE TO TELEPORT TO THE AMUSEMENT PARK AND GET THEM OUT OF THERE!” Without wasting a moment, Comet cast a spell to teleport himself to the Boardtrot, appearing right at the entrance of the place. He saw his friends coming close to the entrance, ready to leave after they were finished having their fun with the Boardtrot’s attractions, fun that included singing a song at a karaoke place. They were smiling and laughing before they saw the aghast Comet and immediately became concerned for him, especially Izzy. “Comet?!” Izzy exclaimed in surprise. “What’s going on?! You look like you’ve seen a ghost! Did one chase you here or something?!” “THERE’S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!” he called out to them frantically. “YOU’RE ALL IN GRAVE DANGER! YOU CAN’T OUTRUN WHAT’S COMING FOR YOU, IT’S TARGETING YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR NEW MAGIC! GET THE NOVA CHARM AND USE IT TO TELEPORT BACK TO THE BRIGHTHOUSE, NOW!” “We can’t!” Izzy explained. “The Nova Charm split itself into pieces after it came into contact with our cutie mark magic!” “WHAT?!” Comet screamed, more panicked than ever now as he looked around to see confirmation that what Izzy was saying was true, seeing the pieces of the Nova Charm in the slots they were placed in. “NNNOOO!” he cried in his mind. “MY TELEPORTATION SPELL ONLY HAS THE POWER TO TELEPORT THE USER!” “HOLY STARS IN THE SKY, THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!” he shouted to the sky. “THE COMET THAT TOOK MY FAMILY FROM ME IS COMING HERE RIGHT NOW! AND EVEN IF I STOP IT WITH MY MAGIC, I’M GOING TO HAVE TO DIE HERE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL OF YOU! HOW DID THE UNIVERSE ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN?!” “COMET, CHILL OUT!” Sunny yelled, stomping her forelegs on the ground and transforming into an alicorn, her desire to help her friend triggering said transformation. “SHOW US WHERE THAT COMET IS AND WE’LL STOP IT TOGETHER!” “It’s not that easy!” Comet retorted, still in a frightened state, but feeling slightly calmer in the presence of the alicorn that represented the element of hope, her magic slightly soothing him. “This comet has been the scourge to my kind for ages! We can’t just…” Comet paused in mid-sentence after the mild assuaging of his anxiety from Sunny’s hope magic allowed him to see that the cutie marks of his friends were glowing, reacting to the pieces of the Nova Charm. He then looked into Izzy’s eyes and saw that she was sad to see him unable to trust her and her friends in such turmoil, her eyes able to tell how all the chaos was affecting his luminescence… “Comet…” she told him somberly. “I know this is hard for you, but you have to believe in us. You know that the Nova Charm split into six pieces for a reason. I can feel the magic coming from the pieces of the Nova Charm…I know that combined with the power of our friendship and the power of your Auroricorn magic, we’ll get through this without any pony having to die. This has to be what the universe wants, I know it!” “Guh…” Comet could only grunt in response to that and place his front hooves on his face, his anxiety rising again as his mind became conflicted on what to believe and do. “Universe, please…” he begged in his mind. “Please, tell me what the right thing to do is! Is Izzy right or wrong?” “Comet, I can not tell you that.” the universe replied in his mind. “I told you that there are certain things I can not divulge, and in this case, if I were to tell you what you needed to do here, that would be going against your free will. You need to trust your friends because you want to, not because I told you to. Part of what gives the magic of friendship power is faith, and faith doesn’t come from being straight up told what’s right and wrong and what actions you need to take.” “Then just tell me what you can tell me!” Comet cried in desperation in thought. “ANYTHING!” “Very well then.” the universe answered his plea. “Even though the Nova Charm is in pieces now, it still has the power to teleport ponies. It just needs a spark of magic. I’m sure you can figure out what you could do from there…but just know that you’re being tested…” Comet’s eyes widened in shock after hearing that. He was immediately able to discern what the universe meant by that. This was a test to see if he would choose to take a bigger risk and have faith in his friends to help him end the cycle without having to lose his life or stick with his original plan that he was more confident in despite it assuring he would die… Eventually, Comet breathed a sigh. He didn’t want to doubt his friends, but he could never allow them to be in this kind of danger no matter how much they wanted to help. The choice was clear… “I’m sorry, Izzy…” he apologized as he begrudgingly prepared a memory loss spell, magic charging up in his horn. “I’m sorry, all of you…but I’m doing this for your own good.” “COMET, NO!” his friends all cried their plea, but it was too late. Their memories of what had happened when Comet arrived at the Boardtrot were erased and as they shook their heads with their eyes closed as a reaction to being affected by the spell, Comet cast another spell in succession. As they regained their composure, the first thing they felt was their cutie marks glowing brighter than ever. This was a result of the second spell Comet had cast, a simple light-enhancing spell that he used to get a reaction from the pieces of the Nova Charm. “Universe, I’ve made up my mind.” he said in thought. “Take my friends back to the Crystal Brighthouse.” “What’s going on here?!” his friends exclaimed as they looked around the Boardtrot and then at Comet in complete confusion. “Comet?! Why are you…” His friends didn’t get to finish what they were about to ask, as they were abruptly teleported to the Brighthouse, leaving only Comet there to lower his head, displeased with himself. “I’m such a bad friend…” he told himself in shame. “But don’t worry, guys…he’ll be a good replacement for me…” Upon saying that, he turned to the Forgotten Comet in the sky that was getting ever closer to him, now targeting him. He glared at it with a serious expression on his face as he began preparing the spell that all the Auroricorns who had stopped the comet before him had used on it… “IT’S NOW OR NEVER!” he declared in indignation as an immense amount of magical energy poured out from not just his horn, but his entire body. “TIME TO RID THE WORLD OF YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!” He then fired his magic at the comet, entirely covering it with his magical energy and stopping it from moving. Sweating profusely and panting from how much of a toll using magic of this caliber was taking on him, he was tempted to stop and take a breather, a temptation he fought against with all his might. “The comet can’t be stopped…” he told himself wearily in thought while huffing and puffing. “…until it’s been fully recreated. I have to merge with it now…” He then levitated himself into the air and brought himself towards the comet, ready to begin the process of fusing with it… “It’s time for us to finally meet…” he said solemnly. “LET US UNITE OUR MAGIC AND END ALL THIS!” “As you wish…” the soul of Comet’s relative replied in an equally serious tone. “Just know that we will not be ending everything for good right now…for you made a grave mistake by not trusting your friends…” “Huh?!” Comet exclaimed in shock. “What do you me-” Comet paused in mid-sentence as his mind became inundated with all sorts of thoughts as a result of merging with the Forgotten Comet. His relative would then proceed to tell him something that had him feeling overwhelmed with regret… “NO.” Comet uttered that single word as the purple stone embedded in the star-shaped accessory attached to his horn fell to the ground. “I felt it when I saw the stars…and yet I didn’t realize…I was supposed to shine as the seventh…AAAGGGHHH!” After that cry of defiance, Comet lamented his folly. After falling silent for some time, he accepted his fate and told his relative remorsefully… “I could never apologize enough. Go now. It’s up to you now to accomplish what I could not, including being a better friend to them than I ever was…” “…Comet…” his relative replied sympathetically. “I couldn’t have a better friend than you. Don’t speak like this is the end for you. There is still something we must do together…” Soon, with a bright flash of light, the Forgotten Comet was gone. On the ground, a blue Auroricorn stood, giving the sky a crestfallen look… Things had gone much differently from how Comet had expected. The increase in his drive to help his lost relative from his confidence in his theories being true increasing had caused the Forgotten Comet to arrive sooner. What he didn’t realize, the creation of a new force of light magic, may have also caused the comet to arrive sooner than he had anticipated by strengthening and attracting its dark magic as a result of a principle of Yin and Yang. However, it had also prevented his existence from being effectively erased as part of the spell used to stop the comet. Just as he had hoped, he existed on a new level now, not losing his identity with a new link being established with the universe and his friends that would make him impossible to forget… …a link with the elements… Meanwhile, after Comet’s friends had been teleported to the part of the Crystal Brighthouse where the Unity Crystals were, they began shaking their heads and rubbing their front hooves against them in confusion. While the memory erasure from the spell used to stop the comet had not taken effect, the effect of the memory loss spell Comet used on them before still remained. “He did it again…” Zipp said in annoyance. “I can’t remember anything before he teleported us here…except…” “The jewels…” Hitch interjected, having the same realization as Zipp. “Our cutie marks were glowing just like they were when Izzy brought the Nova Charm into the kitchen yesterday and when the Nova Charm split apart…meaning that the magic of the Nova Charm is still active, even as it’s in pieces…” It was then that Sunny could feel a strange energy pulsating from the Unity Crystals. Briefly, a purple light began to shine within them… “Something’s definitely amiss here…” Sunny said in a concerned tone of voice. “The magic from the Unity Crystals…I feel like it’s evolving…evolving to deal with a new threat…” “We have to get back to the Boardtrot right now…” a worried Izzy stated. “Comet may be able to erase our memories of our interactions with him, but a unicorn never forgets a pony’s sparkle. The way Comet’s luminescence was being warped by the darkness, it doesn’t matter if that memory leaves my mind because it’s stored in my soul…we need to make sure he’s alright!” Izzy’s friends, believing her concerns for Comet’s wellbeing to be valid, joined her on a trip back to the Boardtrot. Once the gang had made their way back there, however, they stumbled upon not a blue Auroricorn who was unsettled and unkempt, but a blue Auroricorn who appeared confident and composed. “Hi, new friends.” he nonchalantly greeted them with a smile. Author's Note "Hi, new friend! My name is..." The Seventh ElementIzzy and her friends immediately noticed something off about the blue Auroricorn who had just greeted them. Izzy was especially suspicious, not just because of what he had said reminding her of the way she had greeted Sunny when she had first met her, but also because of something she could see that the others couldn’t…this Auroricorn’s luminescence… Sparky was also able to sense something different about this Auroricorn’s aura compared to the aura he felt back when he first met Comet. However, both auras felt pure to him, allowing him to trust this Auroricorn. Izzy, sensing benevolent energy too, decided to only press the Auroricorn on what was apparent to all her friends… “What do you mean, “new” friends?” she asked curiously. “Good…” the Auroricorn thought to himself, unphased by Izzy pressing him even as he and the others gave him suspecting looks, having planned for this. “It seems they still remember him and that he stopped casting spells to erase their memories of him, only wiping their minds of certain events. Now I’m certain of how I’m going to go about making necessary preparations…” “I’m just teasing.” he told them playfully. “Lately, I’ve not been feeling like myself, nor have I been proud of the way I’ve been acting around you all. Calling you my new friends is essentially my way of asking if we could kind of, you know…start over with a new me? I feel spending time with you here would be the perfect way for us to bond.” This caused Izzy and her friends to perk up, their looks of suspicion becoming looks of joy at the prospect of getting to spend time with Comet just like how they used to. “That…really would be perfect.” Izzy answered, despite being slightly hesitant, still seeing what her friends couldn’t see. “We can’t do it tonight though…” Hitch chimed in before he looked down at Sparky, whom he held in his foreleg. “Sparky needs to get to bed. Grandma Figgy’s going to be in town real soon to visit too. He and I both need our rest.” “The rest of us aren’t machines ourselves…” Zipp made a rejoinder before stretching a foreleg while yawning. “After all the time we already spent here tonight,” interjected Sunny, “I think it’s best for us to get some sleep and meet here in the morning.” “Totes!” Pipp exclaimed. “I want to be in tip-top shape before we do some more singing at the karaoke place here!” “Ah-ha…” the Auroricorn thought to himself. “That must be where they were singing the song I heard…” “We can’t wait to spend some time with you here, Comet.” Misty said happily. “Even before this weird stuff started happening, we never got the chance to really get to know you. I’m sure research kept you busy, but in any case, tomorrow’s our golden opportunity to help you truly feel like you’re one of us!” The Auroricorn beamed after Misty said that, feeling overjoyed…but also slightly guilty… “…What are these feelings coming over me?” he asked himself, feeling conflicted. “I’m getting the perfect chance to finally do what I’ve always wanted to do while fulfilling my duty…and yet…something about this doesn’t feel fair. Regardless, I can’t waver. I’m doing this for him too, after all…” “I’m looking forward to it!” he proclaimed energetically. “Let’s get back to the Brighthouse now and get our much needed rest!” As he and every pony else walked out of the Boardtrot, he took a look at something he had picked up from the ground before the others had arrived… “Just you wait…” he said to himself in his mind as he then looked up at the stars in the sky. “I’ll become the new you…” Little did he know, however, that the universe did not agree with what he was plotting as a bright, purple star faded into the darkness of the sky ominously… The next morning, he awoke in the guest room on the first floor of the Brighthouse, having slept on a bed that had previously been moved out of the guest room and into the attic for a reason Sunny was unaware of. He, however, knew the reason why… “Good grief…” he had told himself in thought. “To go that far…that’s not just dedication, that’s an attempt at self-punishment over feelings of guilt…” He then got up from the bed and eyed the drawer where the book, Forgotten Comet, was locked by magic he was able to sense. Using his magic to unlock the drawer, he gave the book a pensive gaze. “Ever since I was a colt, I was forced to have my entire life revolve around studying this and every spell known to my kind…” he said with disdain in his tone of voice. “But now, I finally have the opportunity to live the life I never had. Before I tell them the truth, I’m going to know what it’s like to have a fun life with friends for the first time!” After having breakfast with everyone else in the Brighthouse, the group headed to the Boardtrot. Once they arrived, the first thing they decided to do was visit a roller rink, something Sunny had suggested, given her love for rollerblading. To the surprise of her and her five closest friends, not only did their Auroricorn friend eagerly agree to rollerblading for their first activity, he turned out to be surprisingly good at it, beating all of them in a race. “Wahoo, yeah!” he gave an exclamation and a pump of a foreleg to rejoice in his victory as the others just stared at him, dumbfounded. “You…sure have a knack for this.” Sunny said in astonishment. “I wasn’t expecting you to have that much of an easier time skating on a surface less slippery than ice.” “Well, I wasn’t ever actually that bad at skating on ice when I was a kid.” he gave a reply that had the entire group raising eyebrows. “I just didn’t have the time to practice. Plus, having you all here helped motivate me. The new me tripping over himself on his first day here with you wouldn’t be a good look, heh heh.” “…That’s not what matters to us.” Izzy replied earnestly. “We just want you to be yourself and have fun.” “Understandable…” he made a simple response while trying to hide the fact that he was mildly irritated by Izzy and the others not being as impressed with his aptitude for rollerblading as he would’ve liked. Izzy and the others, able to read how he was feeling, decided it was best to give him a smile and move forward. “In any case,” interjected Hitch, “I feel the winner deserves a prize for his sick skills. All this rollerblading has had me feeling thirsty, so how about we go get some refreshments next? I’ll treat you to something!” The Auroricorn happily agreed to Hitch’s offer and left with the others to a café at the Boardtrot. Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Misty all ordered their favorite frappés while Hitch ordered Sparky cocoa in a kiddie cup, hot coffee for himself, and to his surprise, another hot coffee as the treat he had promised. “Are you…sure you don’t want cocoa?” Hitch had asked, knowing Comet was a cocoa specialist. “The cocoa here’s probably not as good as what I’ve had in Starlight Ridge.” the Auroricorn answered in a tone he tried to keep from sounding snooty. “Besides, I’ve always been more of a coffee pony.” “Well, I…guess we can be coffee buddies then, heh heh!” Hitch exclaimed playfully despite feeling bemused. Soon, every pony was sitting in a booth and enjoying their drinks. Hitch began pouring sugar in his coffee from a container before holding it out to the one he had ordered coffee for, offering it to him. To the surprise of him and everyone else, the response he received was… “No thanks, I usually like to drink it black.” “…Really?” a perplexed Zipp asked. “You make all different kinds of cocoa and you’re partial to black coffee?” For a brief moment, the Auroricorn was also perplexed, staring back at Zipp and the others with an awkward look on his face. Eventually, he sheepishly gave them an explanation of… “Well, I…like my caffeine for when I’m doing my research. I’d rather drink black coffee as opposed to cocoa when I have a lot of work to do to cut back on my sugar intake.” “Wouldn’t you know?” Zipp retorted. “I do the same thing.” “I don’t.” Izzy chimed in. “When I’m super busy, I must have sugar!” Every pony chuckled, even with a feeling of suspicion growing… After they were all finished with their drinks, Pipp decided this was the perfect time to visit the karaoke place, given that every pony had just had their caffeine. The Auroricorn eagerly agreed with what she suggested to the group, almost too eagerly… “Oh yes, we ABSOLUTELY have to go there!” he proclaimed with a type of vigor that felt off-putting. “And there’s this one song that we DEFINITELY need to sing!” “Chillax, we’ll go there and sing what you want to sing.” Pipp replied nonchalantly as the others smiled and nodded. “Even my Pippsqueaks who are still kids don’t tend to get this overexcited…” she said to herself in thought, keeping feelings of increased suspicion to herself, something her equally suspecting friends did as well. Once they arrived at the karaoke place, the Auroricorn insisted on singing the song the others had sung the night before, Let Your Magic Run Wild. He got on a stage by a microphone and began singing the lyrics of the song alongside the others standing beside him. Being by themselves with no other ponies in the karaoke place to judge their performance, mostly thanks to the Boardtrot being very new, it was easy for them to concentrate. They performed without any issue until the chorus, when a troubling event occurred... “ASTER…” The Auroricorn froze in place, he and the others ceasing to sing as this name was uttered by a loud, intimidating voice that was seemingly coming from nowhere. Out of everyone in the group, Izzy was the least surprised to hear the voice, recognizing it as the voice of the universe. She quickly noticed though that the Auroricorn was the most surprised to hear it because he recognized it… “Wha…what?!” he cried in shock in his mind, responding to the universe telepathically. “Why did you say my name for them all to hear?! What are you doing?!” “YOU CAN NOT REPLACE HIM…” the universe explained to him in his mind. “LOOK AT THE STONE…YOU WILL SEE THE TRUTH…” Listening to what the universe told him, he examined the object he had picked up from the ground the night before, the purple stone that had come off Comet’s star-shaped accessory and realized that there was dark energy emanating from it. Looking up at his own star-shaped accessory, he observed the same phenomenon… “No…this can’t be right…” he thought to himself in disbelief. “You mean…I’m not the seventh element?! I can’t assume his role?!” He started breaking out in a cold sweat, having great difficulty processing this revelation. The others quickly noticed and asked with concern… “Hey, are you okay?” “…Y-y-yes…” he answered nervously, stammering. “I just…need some time alone for a little bit. How about we regroup at the café later?” “Sure.” they readily obliged, seizing the opportunity to have their own private discussion. Once he had departed the karaoke place, making his way to a bench where he could sit and contemplate what had just happened, the others began their private talk… “Okay, we need to talk turkey, gang.” Zipp stated outright. “Something’s seriously not right here.” “You can say that again.” Pipp made a rejoinder. “Definitely not every day when that kind of thing happens.” “Not to mention the uncharacteristic way Comet’s been acting…” Misty interjected. “I could sense a dark energy around him…” Sunny remarked worriedly. “Like the energy from that purple glow in the Brighthouse, but corrupted…” “He’s hiding something from us, there’s no doubt about it.” Hitch proclaimed with certainty. “Did that voice call him…Aster? I wonder if he even really is…” He, Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and Misty all wondered the same thing before deciding to put the thought aside for the time being. “In any case,” he continued, “there has to be some way to get him to come clean, but what?” Izzy, unlike her friends, had kept quiet. She had known from the start what had really been going on with their Auroricorn friend…looking over at Sparky and remembering his love for cocoa, she had an idea, communicating it to him with gestures. She brought a front hoof to her mouth and acted like she was sipping something out of a cup before blowing on it while using her magic to make something that looked like a small flame appear with her horn. She then winked at Sparky, who winked back at her… “I have an idea, Hitch…” she proceeded to tell her friend while grinning eagerly. Meanwhile, their Auroricorn friend had been communicating with the universe telepathically and was told more about how he couldn’t replace the true bearer of the seventh element. He was not Comet, the true bearer. Aster, the name the universe addressed him as, was his real name and he was the relative Comet had taken from him by the Forgotten Comet. He’d fully regained his identity. The power of Comet’s magic combined with the power of his own magic had restored him, but unfortunately, it was at a great cost. He had been made whole again just as the universe had promised Comet, but Comet’s mistake had caused him to stay fused with the Forgotten Comet after merging with it, unable to properly recreate it and failing to break the cycle. With Comet unwittingly neglecting to fulfill his duty as the seventh element, even uniting his magic with his brother’s could not surpass the comet’s power… In just two days, the Forgotten Comet would return yet again, coming back sooner than ever before as a result of the seventh element’s creation and the strong desire in the hearts of Comet’s friends and brother to have him back, bolstered by remembering him through his link to the elements. Aster always knew he had to tell Comet’s friends the truth, but he was disillusioned over how it seemed he would have to tell them immediately as opposed to letting them gradually find out. “So much for my first day of fun with friends…” he told himself despondently. “I guess I really am meant to be alone…” “No, you’re not.” Izzy gave him comforting words, surprising him as he turned to face her coming up to the bench. “You just need to understand that we want the real you…” “Uh…” Aster could only say that in embarrassment while blushing red over his mistake of talking out loud. “I have a feeling you like cocoa more than you let on…” Izzy said in a sly tone of voice. “Why don’t you try making some back at the café? Sparky’s craving salty cinnamon cocoa…” “Uh…sure.” Aster answered nervously, seeing no other option but to just go along as he followed Izzy to the café they agreed to regroup at. Soon, Aster found himself at the same table in the café he and the others had sat at before. This time, however, he was greeted with a small kettle filled with hot water, a small cup with a small spoon in it, and a container of cocoa powder, all of which had been borrowed from the café’s kitchen by Izzy and her friends with permission from the kitchen staff who appreciated them and their patronage. “As much as my little buddy likes the cocoa they make here,” explained Hitch, “what he really needs to satisfy his cocoa fixation is cocoa made by a cocoa specialist. Making a little cup of salty cinnamon cocoa wouldn’t be too much trouble for you, right?” “…Nnnot at all.” Aster replied sheepishly, trying to mask his discomfort with a big grin. Looking at what was on the table, Aster quickly noticed that there was no salt or cinnamon in front of him. Using his magic, he levitated a saltshaker and a cinnamon container, both put out where sweetener packets, stirrers, and napkins were, over to the table. He then proceeded to put salt and cinnamon into the cocoa cup before adding hot water to it, unaware of the fact that there was no need for this with the cocoa powder already being salty cinnamon flavor. As Aster stirred the cocoa with the spoon, he was fearful that he had messed it up as he gave it to Sparky. However, to his surprise, when Sparky brought the cocoa to his lips to blow on it before drinking it, he could see Sparky put a bit of his dragon fire into the cocoa, transforming it into the kind of cocoa he remembered drinking when he first visited Starlight Ridge. “Uroo, woo!” he cried cheerfully, loving the taste of the cocoa. Everyone besides Sparky and Izzy looked confused. Izzy just smiled a sweet smile at Aster, a look that was soon shared by her friends, who knew Izzy had suggested this for a reason. Izzy then came over to Aster and whispered this in his ear… “As much as we want the real you, we want you to be the real you because you want to.” Aster blushed again, briefly gasping as he started catching on. “Now it makes sense to me, the remarkable purity of the hearts of these ponies…” he thought in realization and admiration. “They’re just like the universe, knowing that we can’t be forced to be who we’re meant to be. They know it takes time for us to discover who we really are and what we’re meant to do in this world. I always pushed myself because of pressure from others and wanted to show them that I could be just like my brother, but better…but now, I see that no pony could ever replace my brother. I’m not better than him, and they don’t want a better version of him anyway…they want me…” Aster began smiling himself, now ready to tell everyone the truth… “I’m not Comet. I’m Aster, his long-lost twin brother. The real Comet sacrificed himself to bring me back.” Izzy and her friends gasped upon hearing his confession, and immediately began asking questions of concern about what exactly happened to Comet the night before. Aster then began explaining everything Comet had erased from their minds about the Forgotten Comet, as well as all of the new information the universe had relayed to him. He told them all the necessary preparations they would have to make to end the cycle of the Forgotten Comet for good… To do this, they would have to go to the root of its darkness...the darkness may be able to grow stronger as light grows stronger, but what determines the triumph of one over the other is the stronger will… Author's Note Just one more chapter to go now, the finale will be posted next week. This may be my last story, so be prepared... Comet Will Always Be RememberedAfter Aster had told his friends everything they needed to know, including what the universe told him about Comet being the true bearer of the seventh element, it was time for him and the rest of the group to begin their essential preparations for stopping the Forgotten Comet for good and saving Comet. When they came back to the Crystal Brighthouse, they wasted no time in making their way to where the Unity Crystals were held and examining the purple light now being emitted by them. Aster then looked at the purple stone dropped from Comet’s star-shaped accessory and noticed that it was reacting to the Unity Crystals, now emanating both light energy and dark energy. “I sense great power from these crystals and this stone…” Aster remarked in amazement. “Is this a result of me accepting the truth about myself and being honest with you ponies?” “I believe so…” Sunny said with hope in her new friend as she transformed into an alicorn. “Once we’re done here, I think there’s another set of magical crystals we should check out…” Sunny then used her alicorn magic on the purple stone reacting to the Unity Crystals… Later, they came down to the first floor of the Brighthouse, where Zipp and Hitch began talking to Aster about something that had been on their minds for a while. “Before Comet left this place,” explained Zipp as she showed the sketch of Comet’s she had photographed on her phone to Aster, “we found something interesting in his room…” “Given what you’ve told us now about how Comet is “the seventh element”…” Hitch interjected. “…this sketch of his is starting to make me feel a stronger hunch than ever about how he was able to obtain such powerful magic in such a short period of time…” After looking at the photograph Zipp had shown him and then looking back at the purple stone Sunny had used her magic on, Aster had an idea…an idea he wanted to share with Izzy and Misty… “Hey, Izzy…” he said to her. “Remember when you saw me in that dream where I talked to you about that amusement park in space?” “How could I ever forget?” Izzy retorted jubilantly. “Well, heh heh…” he replied with a chuckle. “That actually was me. The universe allowed me to communicate with you in your dreams, knowing that your creativity would be a crucial instrument in stopping the Forgotten Comet in a scenario like this…” “Yes!” Izzy cried happily with a pump of her foreleg. “I knew the universe trusted in creativity to save the day!” “And you, Misty…” he said to Misty as he turned to her. “Your element is empathy, right?” “Yeah.” Misty readily answered. “Something tells me that power of yours will come in handy…” he spoke in a foreboding tone. “After all, the true origin of the Forgotten Comet is not what any pony would expect. The book never documented the tragedy its first victim suffered before he forgot his identity, something I discovered after I merged with it…” A forlorn look formed on Misty’s face, feeling sympathetic as something told her that the comet’s first victim was just like her. She looked over at the guest room and was able to recall how she saw it after Comet appeared from it exactly. Nothing done to her mind could alter her memory of the sight…the familiar feeling it evoked was too powerful. “Uwa, ho, ho!” Sparky made a cheerful cry as he ran around the first floor of the Brighthouse, still full of energy from the cocoa he drank, something that caught Hitch’s attention. “Hope he’s not going to be up all night…” he remarked with a sigh. “Grandma Figgy’s going to be over tomorrow. With that comet coming in two days, I really should ask her to babysit Sparky. It would be a good way to keep him out of harm’s way.” “Hmm, I wonder…” Aster said to himself, getting an idea. Earlier, he had asked the others about Sparky’s powers, wanting to know exactly what the bit of fire he had seen Sparky blow into the cocoa he made had done. He received confirmation of what he postulated, Sparky’s fire being able to transform things into objects of any kind. Although it couldn’t affect living, ensouled things, making it ineffective against the Forgotten Comet in the state it was in, he felt that something so powerful would have to have some kind of use regardless… “What’s on your mind?” Hitch inquired. “Once the threat of the comet is neutralized,” answered Aster, “we could have your grandma come join us to celebrate our victory. I have an idea for how we could create an unforgettable firework show…” “Ooh, I love fireworks!” Pipp exclaimed in delight. “That’s what I call #Fab! We just need to make sure that before that, we get the performance of our song right! I’m going to work extra hard to ensure the song sounds absolutely peeerrrfect!” “I have a good feeling that your magical touch with music will give us that extra boost we need to reach my brother from within the Forgotten Comet…” Aster talked in a foreboding tone again, aware of the dream his brother had before he left the Brighthouse... Eventually, nighttime came and every pony turned in. Aster, however, did not go to sleep right away. He studied the books his brother had left behind, including his copy of Forgotten Comet. After some time, he took two books, levitating them with magic, and cast a spell on them that caused them to disappear and reappear, exchanging places. The next day, the group returned to the Boardtrot after saying goodbye to a cheerful Grandma Figgy, who had visited the Brighthouse and happily agreed to watch Sparky. The purple stone Aster had that was now infused with Sunny’s magic reacted to the pieces of the Nova Charm upon their arrival, prompting the group to test something Hitch and Zipp suggested… Izzy could feel a strange power stirring within her upon entering the Boardtrot that day…once she began putting her creative skills to the test, she could feel like the universe was telling her that she would be changed forever soon… Every pony in the group worked long and hard on performing Let Your Magic Run Wild in the karaoke place, spending that day and the day that followed ensuring their performance of the song was flawless until it was time… “Now is the time to light up the sky…” Izzy said with complete sincerity. Meanwhile, Comet was fighting to keep a hold on his consciousness, maintaining the sense of identity that he had kept from his link with the elements, inside of the Forgotten Comet, submerged in total darkness with the influence of vengeful spirits taking a toll on his mind… “Oh…this is awful…” he lamented. “How bad must it have been for my brother?” Comet wanted to cry as he began to remember how he and his brother were always so different. While he always got to play with new friends and explore new things when he was younger, his brother was always isolated in his room, forced to study the same books and spells with the pressure being put on him to be the one to stop the Forgotten Comet. And then, of course, the Forgotten Comet ended up taking him anyway… “I know he called me his friend…” a doubtful Comet somberly reminded himself. “…but now that I’m experiencing just a bit of the torture he endured here, I can’t help but feel that deep down…my brother hates me…” Comet would soon be proven wrong, however, for the Forgotten Comet was now getting close to the Boardtrot, where the vision he saw in his dream would become reality… “Let your magic run wild…” Comet immediately felt a chill in his soul when he began hearing the lyrics of this song, recognizing the voices of his brother and his friends, who were all giving the Forgotten Comet a serious glare. Then, just like in his dream, he could see himself getting closer and closer to his friends and an Auroricorn who looked exactly like him… “I…I remember this…” Comet said to himself in awe upon experiencing déjà vu, seeing the determination in the eyes of his loved ones who had a magical aura exuding from them. The chill he felt then became replaced by a feeling of relaxation as the song’s tune began to soothe him. The magic of Pipp’s singing was allowing not just her friends, but his brother to communicate a message of love to him through the song, a song that was stifling the influence of the vengeful spirits. Comet felt a sense of undiluted relief and joy as he started to realize exactly why he was feeling a sensation of tranquility… “My brother doesn’t hate me…” he told himself happily. “The message of this song, unleashing your passion and being who you’re meant to be…this is my brother’s way of telling me that he doesn’t want me to suffer the pain of isolation he went through!” With that realization, Comet’s field of vision went completely white as the knowledge that his brother loved him gave him the power to break free of the Forgotten Comet’s hold. “WHAT?!” a dark, vengeful spirit who acted as the core of the Forgotten Comet cried in shock. “This can’t be!” Comet’s soul, shining with brilliant radiance, appearing in the form of a star, left the Forgotten Comet, causing it to become unable to move. It floated in the air as a formless blob of dark energy, contorting strangely as it began to destabilize. “Comet’s free!” Comet’s friends declared exuberantly. “We did it!” “Not quite…” Aster remarked solemnly. “We still have to recreate the comet…” He used his magic to levitate the purple stone Sunny had charged with her alicorn magic in the air before looking over at Izzy. “Remember, don’t overdo it…” he told her ominously as he began to levitate himself in the air along with the stone. “Despite the circumstances, both the universe and I want you to take care of yourself…” Izzy simply looked up at the stars shining brightly in the sky and then looked away, thinking to herself… “Sorry Aster…but remembering what you told me in that dream…makes me feel that pushing myself past my creative limit is my destiny…” Aster proceeded to levitate himself toward the soul of his brother and held out the stone. The magic infused with it combined with his magic was able to collect bits of stardust from the still stunned Forgotten Comet and create a new body for his brother’s soul to occupy. “Yes…” Izzy thought to herself pensively. “This is the secret of the universe that makes restoration possible. We are all made of stardust, but not just any ordinary kind of stardust, a magical type of stardust that resonates with souls. Souls that are especially strong, containing extraordinary amounts of light energy, are capable of having the small bits of stardust that still contain their will reassembled into a complete form by the magic of willpower. However, this form is not like the physical body of a pony. Rather, it is the form of a star taking the shape of a pony…” “Gggrrr…” the core of the Forgotten Comet growled as the bits of stardust it had broken Comet into were taken from it and coalesced into the shape of Comet’s body. Once his brother was now alive again in the form of a star, Aster held the stone up to where it had originally fallen from his brother’s star-shaped accessory and cast a spell that caused the two to briefly disappear in a flash of light. When the two reappeared, the stone was now reattached to Comet’s star-shaped accessory. “I won’t let you break the cycle…” the comet’s core said with venom in his voice, his rage motivating him to fight harder and summon all the power he could muster to break the stun he was in. His will was growing stronger…allowing him to vaguely recall his former self… The dark energy of the Forgotten Comet then took the form of a pony that looked just like Comet… “Before the cycle began…” he declared in an unnerving tone of voice, charging magic in the horn he now had. “I was just like you…and once I was changed forever by this darkness, I knew for absolute certain that being like you…IS NOT WHAT I EXIST FOR!” With that cry, the comet’s core fired a blast of destructive dark energy at Aster and Comet, seeking to destroy them both simultaneously. Anticipating this, however, the Auroricorn floating in the area where Comet was revived used his magic to quickly move his brother to the ground. The blast only hit him, reducing his body to bits of stardust that the comet’s core immediately began to absorb. All of the Auroricorn’s friends were utterly shocked, deeply hurt, and incensed by this sight…especially his brother and Izzy, whose eyes began glowing white. She began charging her horn with magic so powerful, it caused her body to change and levitate in the air… “You’re going to regret that…” Izzy warned the comet’s core angrily. “Big talk…” the comet’s core scoffed as he began charging up another blast of destructive, dark magic. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I just effortlessly snuffed out your precious Comet.” “So wrong…” Izzy retorted as she finished charging her magic. “Even if you were to actually get rid of Comet for real, it wouldn’t change the fact that he’ll always be remembered. And now, it’s time for you to open your eyes and remember who you really are…” “Feh!” the comet’s core exclaimed defiantly as he saw Izzy shoot the magic she was charging into the sky. “I don’t know what you’re blathering about or what you were even aiming at, but it’s not like I care. This is the end for you, after all!” Once the comet’s core had finished charging his blast, he prepared to fire his magic at Izzy and destroy her, only to be stopped by a large blast of light magic hitting him from above. “WHAT IN THE…UH!” the comet’s core cried, the blast not only stunning him, but causing his mind to flash back to who he was in the past. “What…why am I now able to remember…” he said to himself in disbelief as he started having a vivid recollection of the experiences he had when he was alive as a young stallion that bore a similar resemblance to Comet. In his mind, he could see himself having fun while playing with his friends in Starlight Ridge before he learned the news of how his sister had been chosen to become the next leader of the village instead of him despite his exceptional magical power. This news inundated him with intense jealousy…jealousy he attempted to repress. “I should’ve studied harder instead of wasting time playing with my friends…” he told himself tearfully one night when he was outside, looking up at the stars. “I’m not going to complain about it…I need to keep this to myself…no one else should be burdened by my insignificant problems…” Unfortunately, the stallion didn’t realize that his jealousy was corrupting his powerful magic, creating a force that attracted something evil…vengeful ghosts roaming the sky. Their grudges against ponies who had hurt them in life made them unable to find harmony in the sky after death. Merging together, they formed a ball of dark, corrupted energy that headed toward the stallion… “UUUGGGAAAHHH!” the comet’s core cried in shock as the recollection ended there and he snapped back to reality. He then looked below and saw that the only pony standing before him now was a blue Auroricorn charging a new spell. Having merged with a comet before, the Auroricorn could now make himself like one… “Hey, where did your friends go?!” the comet’s core yelled in a demanding tone as he started charging another spell. “Where did that blast come from and what did it do to me?!” The only response he received was a long moment of silence, enraging him. “FINE!” he cried irately. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll just KILL YOU! I’ve already destroyed Comet, so taking you out of the picture, Aster, will guarantee I triumph!” However, once the comet’s core fired his blast at the Auroricorn below, he began to realize that something was off as a chant became audible to him… “No matter how often I fall down, I never get lost in the commotion. On every new adventure, my heart shines with devotion!” From the stone in the Auroricorn’s star-shaped accessory, a bright, orange bubble created from Sunny’s magic appeared around him, shielding him from the blast. The Auroricorn then smirked at the now worried comet’s core, figuring out what was going on… “You…you’re not Aster…” he said in surprise, knowing that this magic could only be the work of the seventh element, the element of devotion. “You’re Comet…the Auroricorn I destroyed earlier was…” “ME!” another Auroricorn in the form of stardust giddily exclaimed, seeing that his plan had worked. “You fell for my trap! I switched places with my brother and let you absorb me…so that I could do THIS!” “NO!” the comet’s core yelled in horror as he looked up at his horn and noticed that it was covered in stardust, Aster’s power rendering him unable to perform any more spells. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!” “Oh, yes it is…” Comet retorted gleefully as he lifted himself in the air with his magic. “It looks like this tale of twin stars is going to end with our triumph rather than yours…” “He can’t dodge or defend himself…” Aster informed his brother. “I’ve had enough time to spread enough magic inside of him to put him under total lockdown…let’s finish him now.” “NNNNNOOOOO!” the comet’s core continued to scream. “THE CYCLE ENDS FOREVER NOW!” the two brothers declared as Comet revealed what kind of spell he had been preparing… …it was a spell to transform his body into a ball of light energy that slammed itself against the comet’s core with a comet’s speed and force. The comet’s core vomited every vengeful spirit inside of him out of his mouth as the ball of light energy Comet now was began to carry him up to the sky at the same incredible speed he had struck him with. “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME?!” the comet’s core shrieked. “Here’s a clue…” Aster taunted. “Look up.” The comet’s core then looked up to see a sight beyond his comprehension…an amusement park just like the one below them was floating in space. “WHAT IN THE…” he commented, almost at a loss for words. He then noticed something else about this amusement park as he was lifted above it and got a bird eye’s view of it. One thing different from the park below was that this park had laser lights shining in the sky, coming from six large, magical stones that were placed in a circle on the ground. They all matched the colors of the pieces of the Nova Charm, being connected to said pieces. Earlier that day, Hitch and Zipp had discovered that with the Nova Charm now being connected to their elements, they could harness power from it and store it inside of anything, like these stones. At the center of the circle the stones made was a laser cannon. This was the source of the attack that had struck the comet’s core from above, drawing power from the crystals that had received energy from Izzy and her friends and the stars in the sky. These crystals were special after all…they were elements that could restore the memories of others… Izzy and her friends were now standing by the cannon and looking up at the sky triumphantly, having been teleported here by the Nova Charm’s magic, which also made them and any inhabitant able to breathe in outer space. The magic of this new Boardtrot kept itself and anyone inside it safe from anything hostile in the environment of outer space, in addition to allowing anyone to keep themselves on its floor. “HOW IS THIS…” the comet’s core uttered in disbelief. “You’d be surprised by what even something as simple as a song performed by true friends can do…” Aster remarked heartily, quoting what Izzy had told him in the dream of hers he had appeared in. “The magic from our song wasn’t just meant to free my brother from your clutches, it was also meant to power this cannon. When Izzy fired that magical blast into the sky, that was to give the stars in the sky extra power to give it the extra boost it needed to be fired.” “You…you planned all this…” the comet’s core continued to speak in disbelief, his anger beginning to abate and become amazement. “You were actually able to do all this…” “It wasn’t easy…” Izzy chimed in, meaning what she said as she could feel her transformation approaching completion. “But creative types never stop until they complete their dream projects when they have the right motivation. My drive will never waver so long as I have my friends…and my friends and I want to help you…” “The crystals showed us the memories that returned to you when you were hit by the cannon…” Misty interjected in a sympathetic tone of voice. “I understand why you felt you had to hold all that negativity in…but no matter how much you try to bottle negativity up, it always spills out eventually, one way or another. No matter how afraid you are, the darkness inside of you is something you have to deal with and grow stronger from…” The comet’s core then looked around and saw that the vengeful ghosts he had thrown up earlier were now becoming one with the sky, some becoming darkness as others were becoming stars. After all the spirits became one with the sky, he felt for sure he could hear one of the stars talking to him in a familiar voice… “I’m so sorry for what you went through, I only wish I had known when we were growing up together…but it’s time for letting go…it’s time to restore balance to the universe…my brother.” “Sister…” he impulsively muttered in surprise, becoming overwhelmed with a feeling of peace as he knew in his heart that the voice belonged to the soul of the first village leader of Starlight Ridge to stop the Forgotten Comet. “We’re not so different from you…” Aster told the comet’s core in a warm tone of voice. “I believe this is why the universe wanted this seemingly endless cycle to be stopped by two siblings and an amazing group of friends…” “The universe wanted us to show you that you have to let hate leave you before love can take its place.” Comet provided words of comfort of his own. “Now that you’re no longer possessed by negativity…will you allow the stars to aid in your escape?” The comet’s core looked up at the sky again, and marveling at how beautiful the stars looked now, he smiled and knew what his answer would be… “Yes.” he responded happily, knowing the will of light had overcome the will of darkness. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want to be among the stars…so that I can make some new memories with them…” With that, Aster and Comet both took the form of stars and made a motion around the comet’s core, causing his soul to leave the form of darkness he was in, recreating the darkness inside his heart as light. The dark amalgamation of energy his soul occupied was left hovering in the air as his soul took the form of a star that levitated up to the sky. It moved close to another star that seemed to be drawn towards it as both stars began to glow… Aster and Comet looked upon this sight and smiled in great satisfaction, elated in seeing the fruits of their labor in not just the fight they had fought against something so overwhelming, but also the brotherly love they had spread to two siblings… Izzy and her friends were admiring the sight with a sense of euphoria as well. However, they and the Auroricorn brothers knew this ordeal wasn’t over just yet. As the Auroricorn brothers levitated down to the ground and assumed their pony forms, they joined their friends in sternly glaring at the dark blob that was still floating above them. A now lifeless, soulless mass of corrupted energy that had disrupted the balance of light and darkness in the universe, it had to be recreated into something that could never harm anyone ever again… “I know what you’re thinking…” the universe told them. “Don’t worry, I spoke with a pony you’re familiar with ahead of time…she’ll be arriving shortly with the one who holds a powerful magic of recreation that will ensure all of the corrupted energy is transformed into something new…” Sure enough, a pony they knew was soon teleported to the Boardtrot in space, appearing behind them in a flash of light. It was Grandma Figgy, holding Sparky in a foreleg. Looking up at the dark blob and then looking at the ponies around her, she shot them a smile that changed their serious expressions into happy ones before saying… “Who wants to do the honors?” All of them knew what she meant… “I…” Hitch was about to say he would do it, before something compelled him to turn to Izzy. All of Izzy’s friends turned to her as well, sensing that there was something about Izzy that made her the perfect pony for the task…a transformation that was nearing its completion… “I…think Izzy should be the one to have the honor.” he told his grandma serenely, who then gave Sparky to Izzy. “Now is the time to really light up the sky…” Izzy remarked with excitement, taking Sparky in hoof. She then ascended towards the dark blob, a magical energy surrounding her causing her to naturally float. Sparky then breathed his magical fire on the dark blob, merging with the blob and transforming it into crackling fireworks ready to blast off. They were launched high up into the sky, where they exploded into multi-colored lights, making the already incredibly bright stars shine even brighter. However, all of the ponies below could clearly see that the brightest star of all… …was their friend, Izzy. Her transformation was complete, she now held Sparky not with hooves, but magical energy. She was now a star, just like Aster and Comet…for the amount of energy she had poured into creating the second Boardtrot and giving it the magic it needed to defeat the comet had destroyed her body and reshaped it into this form… The star that Izzy now was descended back to the second Boardtrot’s floor in the form of a pony, happily handing Sparky back to Figgy. However, every pony was giving her a disbelieving look, prompting her to frown. Turning her head to the floor and frowning with her eyes closed, she decided to be upfront with her friends, telling them… “I’m sorry…” She told them the full truth about the secret of the universe that made the restoration of a destroyed pony possible and why she was a star now. All of them began to cry and gave her a hug. “I really wish it didn’t have to be like this…but everything in my soul was telling me that I had to give it my all…” she said solemnly. “It had to be this Boardtrot’s magic. It’s more powerful than the magic of the Boardtrot below because of it being closer to the stars. Know that things aren’t always what they seem though. This just means that I’m just like Aster and Comet now, the twin stars who worked together to save the day.” “Even if we’re not exactly alive…” Aster interjected in a hopeful tone of voice. “None of us are actually dead either.” “I was scared at first…” Comet told everyone straightly. “…because I knew that the Forgotten Comet had never been stopped without a sacrifice before. However, the will to sacrifice is just what it means to have devotion. Devotion alone isn’t enough though to make an unforgettable impact on the world…” Comet knew in his heart now who his best friend was, the one the universe was referring to when it promised him he’d shine brighter than ever before… He and Izzy then looked at each other with passionate smiles of understanding on their faces before they looked back at their friends and said… “It takes devotion and creativity.” He and Izzy then looked up at the sky and saw that the stars were forming constellations in the sky. The constellations drawn were showing their cutie marks, the marks of their destiny. This led both him and Izzy to feel a strong sensation welling in their souls… …they felt as if the stars in the sky were calling them to float up to the sky and make something it and the universe had foretold a reality… Without another moment of hesitation, the two both levitated up towards the sky and began to dance around where the moon was in the form of stars. Light from them and the other stars around them then began to shine on Izzy’s friends, who also started feeling a powerful sensation in their souls. Before they knew it, they were instinctively closing their eyes and smiling as a magical aura of rainbow light formed around them and made its way to where Izzy and Comet were dancing, shining with an especially radiant glow. The rainbow light made the shape of a heart around them, and once they had completed their dance, that same rainbow light was shared with every star in the sky that now had a rainbow-colored aura… Everyone below was crying tears of joy, filled with pure admiration. They knew that no matter what the future had in store, they could overcome it. The power of the elements Izzy’s friends represented joining together would break any seemingly endless cycle of destruction and misery. Aster could never have understood better now why the universe stopped him from trying to take his brother’s place as the seventh element. Despite him being extremely devoted, just like his brother, he didn’t have a bond like his brother’s with Izzy and her friends…and he couldn’t create a bond with them through not being honest about who he was. Everyone in the universe had a purpose, that purpose being to create unforgettable experiences for others while never giving up on what they were meant to accomplish. Even the simplest things could have impacts on others that they would remember forever. To create something truly impactful though, one must be true to oneself. Aster believed now that this was the reason why the universe had to withhold secrets, for if one knew everything about how the universe worked, that would make one’s personal experiences with the universe less authentic. He believed now that the universe wanted everyone’s personal experiences in life to feel as genuine as possible so that the memories created from those experiences would truly never be forgotten. The universe cared very deeply for memories… …for the universe itself had a memory…and this was exactly how it wanted to remember the ending of the tale of twin stars… Aster decided that night that he would write a book about the tale…and he’d call it… The Comet That Will Always Be Remembered. Author's Note That's the end of what might be my last story. This definitely won't be the end of my work on MLP fan content though and I would love to come back to writing stories when I feel the drive to do so again. Hope to do all sorts of things that will make you all happy in the future!
Tale of the Twin StarsLet your magic run wild… If you could only see everything you could be, you would spend your whole life shining… These were the words Izzy Moonbow and her friends sang inside of a karaoke place on that fateful night at the Boardtrot, where said amusement park was created by the magic of the Nova Charm. An unintended consequence of this was Allura and her pet, Twitch, being left unable to return to Starlight Ridge after the Nova Charm had been split into pieces. However, it wasn’t just the enemies of our heroes who would suffer because of this turn of events…but one of their friends… Somehow, our heroes have forgotten their friend from Starlight Ridge… Comet. How have our heroes forgotten Comet…and where is he? The universe knows…not just about why Comet has been forgotten and where he is…but also how his destiny ties in with an ancient legend…the legend of the Forgotten Comet. The story of the legend and how it relates to Comet is complicated, but understanding it is essential in order to see how events of the future will unfold… Three nights after the night of the Boardtrot’s creation… One night at the Boardtrot, Izzy was standing beside a pony who looked exactly like Comet as she and her friends were looking up at the sky with serious expressions on their faces. A comet was approaching them. It was the Forgotten Comet, a fearsome enemy of the Auroricorns. “Now is the time to light up the sky…” Izzy spoke with full sincerity. She and her friends fully intended to bring about the end of the long, destructive cycle this comet had brought about. Now that they knew how much pain it had caused someone close to them, this matter was personal. They believed that they could finally bring an end to the story of the legend through giving this tale of twin stars a happy ending… This is how the story of the legend goes… Long, long ago, Starlight Ridge faced a great calamity. The small, snowy, starry village was facing a threat far greater than Allura. A comet created from an overwhelmingly powerful amalgamation of dark, corrupted energy was set to crash into their land and cause terrible destruction. The Auroricorns could not stop the comet with their magic alone, and so, the leader of their village and the most powerful magic user in the land had to create a spell unlike any other in order to save them. A terrifying price had to be paid, however. This spell didn’t just demand the life of its user in exchange for the power it would grant them…it would also effectively erase them from existence, eradicating their identity. The comet threatening the village was no ordinary comet that could be destroyed by conventional means, thus the village leader had to come up with a creative solution that unfortunately came with a brutal cost. The village leader was able to communicate with the universe and discover that the reason for this calamity was because of an upset in the world’s balance of dark energy and light energy. The principles of Yin and Yang dictated that this dark force of destruction, the comet, needed to be complemented by an equally powerful force of light and creation. Destruction could not be destroyed by destruction, thus it needed something to merge with it and recreate it. Thus, the village leader used the spell she made in order to fuse her entire being, body, mind, and soul, with the comet, creating a balance of Yin and Yang. Once she was one with the comet, only existing as a ball of dark and light spiritual energy, she was sent into deep space. Not wanting her subjects to be overwhelmed with grief over her loss, she designed the spell to erase all memories of the user from the minds of those who knew them. Being a proud and studious magic user, she chose to have her memory live on through her spells. To preserve her legacy and prevent a catastrophe like the one she had stopped from happening in the future, she left behind a book of spells for her successor, the next leader of Starlight Ridge, to study and practice. This book is also what tells us the story of the legend, its title being… Forgotten Comet. Comet had been told this story ever since he was a colt…and it always filled him with questions. He had his own copy of the book that he would diligently read, seeking to find answers to the questions he had. He could never understand why the village leader would go so far as to have all memories of her erased or bring himself to believe that the sacrifice of a pony’s existence was the only way to stop the comet. She would’ve also been erasing memories of her from the minds of her loved ones…what kind of terms was she on with her family? He always felt that there was something the village leader was missing…something that every pony who read the story was missing…and part of the reason why he came to Equestria was to find that something. For it was when he met Izzy and her friends that he felt a premonition. He immediately sensed a love for creativity within Izzy that touched his devoted soul…she and her friends ignited a spark in him that had him feeling like they could help him find what everyone else missed… However, the more Comet looked for that thing he thought every pony missed after he came to Equestria, the more he understood the mindset of the village leader who stopped the comet. Just like her, he became able to communicate with the universe, learning new information that horrified him and made him want to distance himself from his friends, not wanting them to get dragged into danger. He discovered that the comet that threatened his village all those moons ago…had actually been a recurring phenomenon. The village leader had not just erased the memories of her subjects for personal reasons…but to try and stop the comet’s return. She discovered the magic of willpower in her conversations with the universe, how things can happen because of what ponies will. With ponies mourning her loss and wanting her back, they would also be unknowingly wishing for the comet to come back, for her existence was now one with the comet’s. What the village leader didn’t know, however, was that the existence of a pony could not truly be erased. Even with her identity gone, the ponies still remembered her deep down in their subconscious minds. Subconsciously, they willed for her return, making the return of the comet inevitable. Another thing the village leader didn’t know was that she had inadvertently created an endless cycle through the way she had stopped the comet while leaving behind a record of the spell she used to do it. When the comet she became inexorably returned and threatened Starlight Ridge once more, the new village leader stopped it using her spell…but in turn, became one with the comet. The successor the new village leader had chosen would meet the same fate when the comet returned, and so on. The Auroricorns had become ensnared in an infinite loop, a loop Comet was more determined than ever to break once he learned of its most recent victim…a family member of his… “UUUWWWAAA!!!” Comet cried out in despair upon being given this devastating revelation by the universe. Learning of the tragedy his kind were bound to was hard enough on him, and now, he had to bear the weight of the tragedy that had stricken his own family. It was this revelation that made him feel like he and the first village leader to stop the comet had some kind of special connection… Someone in his family had been a powerful magic user. They shared the same cutie mark as him, something possible for Auroricorns with them being a special breed of ponies that had magically evolved, and had been deemed worthy of becoming the next possessor of the Nova Charm and the next leader of Starlight Ridge. Like Comet, this relative of his wanted to break the cycle the Auroricorns were trapped in and was doing extensive research to find a way. Although he ultimately ended up having to use the fusion spell in the book to stop the comet, he had come up with theories on how it worked and other ways it could be stopped while doing his research. The universe told Comet of the theories his relative had come up with after restoring his memories of him, but unfortunately, testing them would prove to be difficult. To complicate matters further, Comet learned that the soon approaching comet was strangely not set to strike Starlight Ridge this time, but Maretime Bay… “WHAT?!” Comet impulsively cried in concern and shock upon learning this. At the time he had found out about this, it was late at night, and he immediately put his front hooves around his mouth, worrying that he might have woken someone up. Comet lived in a room on the first floor of the Crystal Brighthouse with his friends. However, ever since he had discovered the truth about the Forgotten Comet, he had been casting memory-erasing spells left behind in the book by the village leader who first stopped the comet to make his friends forget about him as a way to protect them, not wanting them to be crushed by his heavy burden. Comet waited for a while, and after hearing no reaction to his cry, breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry, every pony…” he said remorsefully in thought as he returned to researching ways to break the cycle of the Forgotten Comet, something he had been doing around the clock in his room ever since he learned of the dreadful loop. “You may be my friends, but this kind of threat is on a completely different scale than what we had to face together back in Starlight Ridge with Allura stealing the Nova Charm. This threat has never been stopped without a sacrifice before and even if I succeeded in stopping it without sacrificing myself…there’s no guarantee I’d ever see him as his true self again…” By “him”, Comet was referring to the relative he had lost. His only hope of seeing him as the pony he knew again was a theory his relative had formulated about what happens to the souls of the Auroricorns who become the Forgotten Comet after another Auroricorn sacrifices their existence to become the new comet. He believed that the soul of the original comet would not merge with the soul of the new one, continuing to have no personal identity, but become a star in space with its identity restored if it wasn’t already regained. The reason he believed this tied in to what he believed about a reason why the comet would always return besides the magic of willpower. He believed this reason was because the soul of the heroic Auroricorn that became the comet, its good-natured light energy, had to eventually leave it. Knowing this, the Forgotten Comet would seek out a new source of light energy before that soul would depart in order to maintain its stability. Having special magic tied to luminous phenomena, Comet knew with certainty even before communicating with the universe that the souls of ponies could become stars in the sky or make them grow brighter by becoming darkness in space. He wanted to confirm the theory his relative postulated by asking the universe what happened to the souls of the Auroricorns who stopped the Forgotten Comet in the past. However, the universe refused to divulge this information, asserting that there are only certain things it can reveal to certain ponies. The reason it told him what it did and restored his memories of his lost relative, hastening the comet’s return, was because it believed that its inhabitants were now able to permanently stop the comet. What the universe did tell him though in an attempt to attenuate his suffering was that he would see the relative the Forgotten Comet took from him whole again, a secret about the universe making his restoration possible. Not only that, but if he proved himself to be a truly righteous soul, he would shine brighter than ever before alongside his best friend… “My best friend, huh…” a dejected Comet now thought as he remembered this promise from the universe that wasn’t filling him with the same feeling of wonder it once did. “I wonder who exactly the universe was referring to... Regardless, when all this is done, will any pony I’ve ever known even remember me?” Comet looked out a window by a desk he had been sitting at with all the notes of research he had compiled on it. Drawn on some of his notes were sketches of crystals, one particular drawing showing six colored jewels and a gray stone, and sketches of stars, stars he could see shining brightly outside. He then saw two stars that had an especially radiant glow appear as if they were dancing around the moon… “Is this…a sign?” he asked himself curiously, remembering another thing the universe had told him... “Just like in ancient times, the stars will aid in an escape…I wonder…if I really do succeed in bringing him back…maybe it will help me find my element. If I do that, maybe I truly can shine…” While Comet’s attention was captured by a sight he believed could be prophesying his fate, other things that would determine his fate were already being set in motion… Something purple could be seen glowing in the sky that caused a light to shine in the purple stone embedded in the star-shaped accessory hanging from his horn. Also, upstairs, Izzy, sleeping soundly, had heard Comet’s earlier cry in a dream. In this dream, she was told the same secret of the universe Comet was told as she conversed with the soul of a star... “Heh heh, what…” she said teasingly, talking in her sleep. “You’d be surprised by what even something as simple as a song performed by true friends can do…” She would soon be changed forever… Author's Note Although I unfortunately can not list Comet as a character with him sadly still not having a character tag yet, he's very much the main character of this story.
Friends Are Never ForgottenComet continued to look out at the sky before fatigue from the nonstop work he had been doing eventually overtook him. The languid Auroricorn submitted to his body’s desire for rest and slumped over on his desk, falling asleep. He then began to dream, his mind imagining himself submerged in total darkness… “Ugh…” he grunted in the dream. “What’s going on?” He attempted to move his legs, but to no avail. “I can’t move my body…” he told himself in concern as something he could feel caused that concern of his to grow. “And I feel…anger…intense jealousy…hate…but these can’t be my emotions…wait, what’s this?” All of a sudden, Comet could see something getting closer and closer in his field of vision…it was the sight of Izzy Moonbow, her friends, and a pony who looked just like him giving him a serious glare… “What in the…?!” Comet said in shock upon seeing the pony who resembled him. “Is that pony me?! How can that be me when I’m right here?! Unless it’s…him…” Comet then saw a magical aura exuding from Izzy and the others and heard a soothing melody that caused something in him to feel relaxed. His field of vision then went completely white as he saw nothing but bright light… “AAAHHH!” he yelled, awakening from his dream. Instinctively, he put his front hooves on his mouth just like he had done last night. This time, however, his cry had gotten the attention of his friends, who were not far away from him, getting ready for breakfast in the other room. Izzy, always excited for Sunny Starscout’s pancake breakfasts, had her once cheerful expression become one of surprise. “That voice…” she thought, feeling a premonition. “What was that noise?” Sunny asked in concern, having just placed a plate of pancakes she had made on the table in the kitchen. “Sounds like it came from the guest room by the attic…” Hitch Trailblazer answered, eying said room. “Looks like it’s time for an early morning investigation!” Zipp Storm proclaimed with glee. “NO!” Comet shouted in his mind, hearing what his friends had said and the sound of them approaching the room he was in. Zipp then attempted to open the door, only to find that it was locked, the way Comet always left it. “Hmm…” she said curiously. “That’s strange…why would the guest room be locked from the inside? We’ve not had any guests over recently…” “Not guests…” Izzy chimed in. “But a friend of ours has been living here lately…” “WHAT?!” Comet cried in his mind in fear. “Oh no, don’t tell me…” “Friend of ours?” Pipp Petals inquired. “Are you talking about Señor Butterscotch?” “Nah, Señor Butterscotch’s always been living with us, he’s listed as a permanent resident.” Izzy blankly replied. “The friend I’m talking about is a blue Auroricorn who likes to study, trips over himself a lot, and knows how to make really good cocoa!” “Urraa!” Sparky, whom Hitch was holding, exclaimed in delight. Comet couldn’t believe what he had just heard Izzy say. “SHE KNOWS?!” he continued speaking frantically in thought. “But I’ve been casting spells to make them forget about me! Does Izzy have some kind of special power that makes her more resistant to memory loss magic?!” “So…what’s his name?” Misty Brightdawn asked curiously. “That’s the one thing I don’t remember…” Izzy replied with a hoof to her chin. “However, another blue Auroricorn was in this weird dream I had last night about space. In it, that blue Auroricorn, who was nothing like the blue Auroricorn I just told you about, having a totally different sparkle, was with me at an amusement park that was somehow in space with all these brilliant laser lights and this cool laser cannon! He said the universe would only allow him to say certain things, but he was able to tell me about these special crystals that could make ponies remember long forgotten memories and let me in on one of the universe’s biggest secrets!” Upon hearing that, Comet was in a state of extreme disbelief, his mind being forced to process this completely unexpected turn of events. “It can’t be…” he thought to himself, flabbergasted. “Does she mean…did he…if his theories are true, that’s beyond amazing! However…does that mean everything I’ve done to make my friends forget about me…been for naught?” Like Izzy, he too felt a premonition… “Even though the memory spells are not foolproof…could it be that the reason Izzy can still remember what she does about me not be because she has a special power that makes her resistant to the spells I’ve been casting…but because her destiny is intertwined with mine? Is she the one that...” Comet then lowered his head in dismay, feeling foolish. “If that’s the case…” he said defeatedly in thought. “There’s no use hiding anymore…first the comet now targeting Maretime Bay and now this…it’s time to come clean…” He then unlocked the door and opened it, just as Zipp was about to inquire about the dream. “Special crystals? Secret of the universe? Can you rememb…WOAH…” She and the rest of her friends turned to face a disheveled Comet with looks of shock on their faces. “Um…with all due respect, sir…” she continued talking, now speaking to Comet. “Who are you and what in the hay are you doing here?” Comet then cast a spell to undo the effects of his memory loss magic. “W-wait a second…” every pony besides Comet said. “…COMET?! What’s going on here?!” “I’ll explain what happened over breakfast…” a distraught Comet answered, trotting towards the kitchen as his friends could hear his stomach growling. “I’ve not eaten in a while…” All of his friends shared looks of concern with each other before they peered into his room. “Hoofness gracious…” Misty reacted in shock, the sight of it making her tremble. “This reminds me of my room when I lived in Opaline’s lair…” The rest of the group was also taken aback by how Comet’s room looked. There were no posters on the wall, there was no bed with only a pillow and a blanket lying on the floor where one should have been, and no trinkets or accessories Comet had a penchant for in sight. The only thing to observe in the room that gave it any kind of personality was the desk Comet worked at, having an assortment of notes, sketches, writing utensils, and books on top of it. Comet’s copy of Forgotten Comet was not among these books, however. He had brought it to the Brighthouse from Starlight Ridge, but had made sure it was put in a desk drawer he had locked with a spell he had cast. “Oh my glitter…” Pipp said in astonishment. “This place is #Drab! This room would be number one on my top ten list of places that need a makeover!” As Pipp flew in the room and began taking pictures with her phone, Zipp and Hitch glanced over at the desk before looking at each other. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Hitch told her. “Totally.” Zipp replied. “We do what my sister’s doing, but for investigative purposes…” Soon, all of Comet’s friends went to join him at the table for breakfast. Comet was sitting in one of the seven chairs at the table where a stack of pancakes on a plate laid in front of him alongside six other plates of pancakes by the other chairs. As soon as he saw his friends approaching the table, he asked Sunny what had been on his mind since he had seen all the pancakes she had made… “Did you make one of these stacks of pancakes for me?” “Yes…” Sunny answered in a slightly abashed tone, still trying to grow accustomed to what was happening. “I’ve been making an extra stack every morning for a while now actually…feels strange to finally learn the reason why…” “So you really didn’t forget me…” Comet replied, his tone conveying the mixed emotions he was feeling, dissatisfied with the shortcomings of his magic but also happy that his friends really did care about him. “Of course not.” Sunny bluntly replied as she and her other friends sat down at the table. “I don’t know what kind of magic you cast on us, but know that no magic is stronger than the magic of friendship.” “I wonder about that…” Comet retorted, having resolved to at least disclose minor details about what was going on with his friends. “The reason I did what I did is because we’re being threatened by a force that has plagued my kind for ages. It’s a force far stronger than Allura, and even our friendship only narrowly defeated her.” “What is it?!” Sunny asked with great concern that was shared by her friends. “It’s a magical comet that comes to inflict destruction upon Starlight Ridge time after time…” Comet explained in a despondent tone of voice. “And no pony has ever been able to stop it completely, not even the most powerful Auroricorns of all at the cost of their lives. I cast spells on all of you because I didn’t want to get you involved…I didn’t want you to have to experience the pain of losing me forever…” It was then that Comet began to cry, leading his friends to want to cry as well, feeling great compassion for their friend. “Oh, Comet…” Sunny said sorrowfully, coming over to her friend to give him a hug. “We feel nothing but sympathy for you for what you’ve been going through…but you have to be willing to trust us. Being forgotten is worse than dying. We want you to be fully remembered and live on in our hearts to the fullest.” “Do…do you really mean that?” a stunned Comet asked, feeling flattered. “I mean, we haven’t known each other that long…” “You don’t have to be well-acquainted with a pony for them to leave a lasting impact on you.” Sunny told him serenely. “Sometimes, you find that even the simplest things ponies do can be unforgettable…” “Hey…” Izzy interjected. “This reminds me of another part of my dream. I was telling a pony who looked just like Comet about how even a simple song could have great power if it was performed by true friends…” After hearing this remark, Comet felt another alarm bell go off in his mind… “You have to be joking…” he thought to himself in utter shock as his mind flashed back to the dream he had. “It’s not just Izzy my destiny is intertwined with…it’s all of them. That must be why the comet is coming to Maretime Bay! Our connection can’t be changed…but I still must protect them…and that pony…I know for sure now…” “Every pony…” Comet solemnly addressed his friends. “I’m sorry for my misguided attempt at protecting you, but there’s something I must do when breakfast is over. I have to go on a trip.” “A trip to where?” Sunny asked curiously. “Are you going back to Starlight Ridge to help protect the Auroricorns from the comet? If so, we want to come with you!” “I’m not going back to Starlight Ridge.” Comet answered bluntly. “The trip I’m going on is to a place I need to go to in Maretime Bay so that I can confirm something.” “…Alright then.” Sunny replied with a hint of uncertainty in her tone of voice. “But if you need to use the Nova Charm, please tell us first so that we can tag along and help.” “Of course…” Comet replied in a monotone voice, something that made his friends suspicious. “You know, I’ve been thinking about using the Nova Charm to go to an amusement park ever since I had that dream!” Izzy exclaimed, trying her best to be her usual effervescent self as to not make Comet suspect them in turn. “Why don’t I go get it as soon as we’re done eating?” “That’s a great idea, Izzy!” Zipp declared supportively, also trying to talk as naturally as possible. “I second that.” Comet chimed in, slightly surprising his friends. “After all, there’s something about the Nova Charm I wanted to confirm…” Despite Izzy and the others finding Comet having no objection to the proposal strange, she still went to acquire the Nova Charm as soon as breakfast was over. Once she brought it to her friends, something peculiar happened…the cutie marks of her and her friends besides Comet began to glow. “What the…?!” every pony except for Comet reacted in shock. “I knew it!” Comet cried in his mind. “The Nova Charm is now connected to their elements!” Comet then took advantage of his friends being caught off guard by what was happening with their cutie marks to cast a spell that would make his friends forget what he had told them about the Forgotten Comet. To keep them from following him, he left them with the memory of him saying he was going on a trip. He then cast a teleportation spell in quick succession while uttering the following in his mind… “Universe…take me to where you intend to take Izzy!” With a flash of light, he was gone. None of his friends remembered anything from the conversation they had with him besides what he allowed them to remember. “Hey, what…?” Sunny asked in confusion, putting a hoof to her head. “I can’t remember our conversation right…why would he just take off for his trip like that?” “He must have cast another one of those memory loss spells on us…” Zipp said as she mused about the situation at hand. “But why only erase our memories of most of that conversation this time?” “He must feel that there’s no need to erase our memories of him anymore…” Hitch suggested. “The question is, what changed his mind?” “Hmm…” Zipp hummed to herself as she pulled out her phone and looked over the photos she and Hitch had taken in Comet’s bedroom. “I wonder…oh?” Zipp then noticed that one of the sketches she had photographed showed six colored crystals and an arrow from them pointing at something that looked like the Nova Charm and had a question mark beside it. There was also a seventh gray stone with a question mark on it below. “I have a theory…” she stated as she gave the Nova Charm a foreboding look. “This sketch seems to indicate he hypothesized about the Nova Charm being linked to these special crystals…elements. And he cast spells to make us forget something big we talked about and to teleport away after Izzy brought the Nova Charm here…” “I think I get it now…” Hitch interjected in realization as he looked over at his cutie mark and saw that it was still glowing. “He thinks there’s no stopping us getting involved in his business now. He’s learned some powerful magic, memory spells and teleportation…I wonder if we could discover magic like that now too…” “Regardless, let’s leave him be for now.” Izzy interjected solemnly. “The universe will naturally bring us together soon…I can feel it…” Her friends felt a similar premonition… Meanwhile, Comet had teleported himself close to the last place Izzy would use the Nova Charm to teleport to in her quest to cure herself of the Blockywockys, a place close to the Boardtrot. “There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind anymore…” Comet remarked to himself as he looked out at the abandoned amusement park from a hill. “I will bring him back. This is where our destinies will meet…” Author's Note Things get real in the next chapter...
Destinies MeetComet then turned his attention to the sky, still thinking about how the destinies of all the ponies on his mind would meet here… “I’ve made up my mind…” he said solemnly. “I’m going to make the same sacrifice you made. Back then, it should’ve been me, not you…” Comet proceeded to enter a meditative state, sitting down with his back legs crossed and putting his front hooves together. After spending some time in this state, he was able to feel the same anger, jealousy, and hate he could feel in the dream he had the night before and soon discovered the source of it. “So these negative emotions are coming from the darkness of the Forgotten Comet…and vengeful souls inside it…” he told himself in realization. “I can feel that there’s one soul that’s long forgotten its identity brimming with far more animosity than all the others though residing at the comet’s core…and one with a sense of identity possessing far less…could that be him?” As Comet focused his attention on the soul he felt the least hate radiating from, words from the universe echoed through his mind… “You will save them all…darkness is what drives them to you…because while they’re only subconsciously aware of it, they know you can even save the first victim of the darkness, holding the potential to learn to strike with the force and speed of a comet. You should expect the unexpected though…and know that the first victim…he and the village leader are just like you and him.” Upon hearing these words, Comet became ever more motivated to stop the Forgotten Comet and began charging magic in his horn… “Two days from now…” he said in thought with great determination. “I can tell from the aura of the comet and the rate at which it’s intensifying that it will come towards where I am and be within striking range of my magic in two days…” Comet was ready to enact what he had been planning. He’d use the fusion spell, then make his move before the fusion was fully complete. He had thought long and hard about what he needed to do differently from the Auroricorns who had stopped the comet before him and eventually came to the conclusion that the answer lied in the stars, thus why he had drawn sketches of them on his notes. An Auroricorn’s magic grew more powerful when coming into contact with a star that was once a pony. Whether or not his lost relative’s theories were true, there was at least one soul inside the comet that could become a star…and since that soul was the soul of his lost relative, the two could combine their magic to recreate the comet into something that would never return to cause destruction again… “This is it…” Comet thought to himself confidently. “In two days, I promise you, my flesh and blood…this is where you will be reborn!” However, unbeknownst to Comet when he had made that vow, his relative would be reborn sooner than that, shortly before meeting his friends... While he did know that the universe intended to bring Izzy here and that his destiny was intertwined with the destinies of his friends, he had no way of knowing exactly how things would play out. He believed the way their destinies would be intertwined was through his memory living on through the elements and his reborn relative, believing the power of the elements could transcend the power of the terrible effect of the spell he planned to use to stop the Forgotten Comet, the effective erasure of one’s existence. He’d hoped that Izzy and her friends would simply come to the abandoned amusement park, discover what the universe had brought Izzy and, in turn, her friends there for, and leave. What would transpire though would be much different… The next morning, at the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy began experiencing creative block, believing the cause of said creative block to be “the Blockwockys”. The actual cause of her creative block was a side effect of Comet’s memory loss magic, but being unaware of that, she used the Nova Charm to go on her journey across Equestria seeking a cure to what she believed was the cause. Eventually, she found herself at the abandoned amusement park, where the Nova Charm split into six pieces that were placed in six slots around the park’s attractions. After its magic transformed the place into the Boardtrot. Izzy’s friends joined her at the Boardtrot just before the Nova Charm broke apart, a reaction to the magic of her and her friends’ cutie marks. Something purple then glowed in the sky… Once this had happened, Comet felt the energy around him shift… “Huh?” he reacted in surprise in thought. “What’s going on? This magical energy…it reminds me of…the energy I felt in my dream…are all my friends at that amusement park?” After some time had passed, Comet felt the Forgotten Comet’s energy shift too… “Something’s off…” he said with concern in his mind. “It doesn’t feel like the comet is heading towards me anymore…from what I feel, it’s changing course…moving faster…heading towards the source of that magical energy…OH. NO.” All at once, Comet realized what was going on and became more scared than he had ever been in his life… “THE FORGOTTEN COMET IS GOING TO DESTROY MY FRIENDS!” he cried in terror in his mind. “I WON’T BE ABLE TO HIT IT FROM HERE WITH MY MAGIC NOW THAT IT’S CHANGED ITS PATH AND IS HEADING TOWARDS THEM AT THAT SPEED! I HAVE TO TELEPORT TO THE AMUSEMENT PARK AND GET THEM OUT OF THERE!” Without wasting a moment, Comet cast a spell to teleport himself to the Boardtrot, appearing right at the entrance of the place. He saw his friends coming close to the entrance, ready to leave after they were finished having their fun with the Boardtrot’s attractions, fun that included singing a song at a karaoke place. They were smiling and laughing before they saw the aghast Comet and immediately became concerned for him, especially Izzy. “Comet?!” Izzy exclaimed in surprise. “What’s going on?! You look like you’ve seen a ghost! Did one chase you here or something?!” “THERE’S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!” he called out to them frantically. “YOU’RE ALL IN GRAVE DANGER! YOU CAN’T OUTRUN WHAT’S COMING FOR YOU, IT’S TARGETING YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR NEW MAGIC! GET THE NOVA CHARM AND USE IT TO TELEPORT BACK TO THE BRIGHTHOUSE, NOW!” “We can’t!” Izzy explained. “The Nova Charm split itself into pieces after it came into contact with our cutie mark magic!” “WHAT?!” Comet screamed, more panicked than ever now as he looked around to see confirmation that what Izzy was saying was true, seeing the pieces of the Nova Charm in the slots they were placed in. “NNNOOO!” he cried in his mind. “MY TELEPORTATION SPELL ONLY HAS THE POWER TO TELEPORT THE USER!” “HOLY STARS IN THE SKY, THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!” he shouted to the sky. “THE COMET THAT TOOK MY FAMILY FROM ME IS COMING HERE RIGHT NOW! AND EVEN IF I STOP IT WITH MY MAGIC, I’M GOING TO HAVE TO DIE HERE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL OF YOU! HOW DID THE UNIVERSE ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN?!” “COMET, CHILL OUT!” Sunny yelled, stomping her forelegs on the ground and transforming into an alicorn, her desire to help her friend triggering said transformation. “SHOW US WHERE THAT COMET IS AND WE’LL STOP IT TOGETHER!” “It’s not that easy!” Comet retorted, still in a frightened state, but feeling slightly calmer in the presence of the alicorn that represented the element of hope, her magic slightly soothing him. “This comet has been the scourge to my kind for ages! We can’t just…” Comet paused in mid-sentence after the mild assuaging of his anxiety from Sunny’s hope magic allowed him to see that the cutie marks of his friends were glowing, reacting to the pieces of the Nova Charm. He then looked into Izzy’s eyes and saw that she was sad to see him unable to trust her and her friends in such turmoil, her eyes able to tell how all the chaos was affecting his luminescence… “Comet…” she told him somberly. “I know this is hard for you, but you have to believe in us. You know that the Nova Charm split into six pieces for a reason. I can feel the magic coming from the pieces of the Nova Charm…I know that combined with the power of our friendship and the power of your Auroricorn magic, we’ll get through this without any pony having to die. This has to be what the universe wants, I know it!” “Guh…” Comet could only grunt in response to that and place his front hooves on his face, his anxiety rising again as his mind became conflicted on what to believe and do. “Universe, please…” he begged in his mind. “Please, tell me what the right thing to do is! Is Izzy right or wrong?” “Comet, I can not tell you that.” the universe replied in his mind. “I told you that there are certain things I can not divulge, and in this case, if I were to tell you what you needed to do here, that would be going against your free will. You need to trust your friends because you want to, not because I told you to. Part of what gives the magic of friendship power is faith, and faith doesn’t come from being straight up told what’s right and wrong and what actions you need to take.” “Then just tell me what you can tell me!” Comet cried in desperation in thought. “ANYTHING!” “Very well then.” the universe answered his plea. “Even though the Nova Charm is in pieces now, it still has the power to teleport ponies. It just needs a spark of magic. I’m sure you can figure out what you could do from there…but just know that you’re being tested…” Comet’s eyes widened in shock after hearing that. He was immediately able to discern what the universe meant by that. This was a test to see if he would choose to take a bigger risk and have faith in his friends to help him end the cycle without having to lose his life or stick with his original plan that he was more confident in despite it assuring he would die… Eventually, Comet breathed a sigh. He didn’t want to doubt his friends, but he could never allow them to be in this kind of danger no matter how much they wanted to help. The choice was clear… “I’m sorry, Izzy…” he apologized as he begrudgingly prepared a memory loss spell, magic charging up in his horn. “I’m sorry, all of you…but I’m doing this for your own good.” “COMET, NO!” his friends all cried their plea, but it was too late. Their memories of what had happened when Comet arrived at the Boardtrot were erased and as they shook their heads with their eyes closed as a reaction to being affected by the spell, Comet cast another spell in succession. As they regained their composure, the first thing they felt was their cutie marks glowing brighter than ever. This was a result of the second spell Comet had cast, a simple light-enhancing spell that he used to get a reaction from the pieces of the Nova Charm. “Universe, I’ve made up my mind.” he said in thought. “Take my friends back to the Crystal Brighthouse.” “What’s going on here?!” his friends exclaimed as they looked around the Boardtrot and then at Comet in complete confusion. “Comet?! Why are you…” His friends didn’t get to finish what they were about to ask, as they were abruptly teleported to the Brighthouse, leaving only Comet there to lower his head, displeased with himself. “I’m such a bad friend…” he told himself in shame. “But don’t worry, guys…he’ll be a good replacement for me…” Upon saying that, he turned to the Forgotten Comet in the sky that was getting ever closer to him, now targeting him. He glared at it with a serious expression on his face as he began preparing the spell that all the Auroricorns who had stopped the comet before him had used on it… “IT’S NOW OR NEVER!” he declared in indignation as an immense amount of magical energy poured out from not just his horn, but his entire body. “TIME TO RID THE WORLD OF YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!” He then fired his magic at the comet, entirely covering it with his magical energy and stopping it from moving. Sweating profusely and panting from how much of a toll using magic of this caliber was taking on him, he was tempted to stop and take a breather, a temptation he fought against with all his might. “The comet can’t be stopped…” he told himself wearily in thought while huffing and puffing. “…until it’s been fully recreated. I have to merge with it now…” He then levitated himself into the air and brought himself towards the comet, ready to begin the process of fusing with it… “It’s time for us to finally meet…” he said solemnly. “LET US UNITE OUR MAGIC AND END ALL THIS!” “As you wish…” the soul of Comet’s relative replied in an equally serious tone. “Just know that we will not be ending everything for good right now…for you made a grave mistake by not trusting your friends…” “Huh?!” Comet exclaimed in shock. “What do you me-” Comet paused in mid-sentence as his mind became inundated with all sorts of thoughts as a result of merging with the Forgotten Comet. His relative would then proceed to tell him something that had him feeling overwhelmed with regret… “NO.” Comet uttered that single word as the purple stone embedded in the star-shaped accessory attached to his horn fell to the ground. “I felt it when I saw the stars…and yet I didn’t realize…I was supposed to shine as the seventh…AAAGGGHHH!” After that cry of defiance, Comet lamented his folly. After falling silent for some time, he accepted his fate and told his relative remorsefully… “I could never apologize enough. Go now. It’s up to you now to accomplish what I could not, including being a better friend to them than I ever was…” “…Comet…” his relative replied sympathetically. “I couldn’t have a better friend than you. Don’t speak like this is the end for you. There is still something we must do together…” Soon, with a bright flash of light, the Forgotten Comet was gone. On the ground, a blue Auroricorn stood, giving the sky a crestfallen look… Things had gone much differently from how Comet had expected. The increase in his drive to help his lost relative from his confidence in his theories being true increasing had caused the Forgotten Comet to arrive sooner. What he didn’t realize, the creation of a new force of light magic, may have also caused the comet to arrive sooner than he had anticipated by strengthening and attracting its dark magic as a result of a principle of Yin and Yang. However, it had also prevented his existence from being effectively erased as part of the spell used to stop the comet. Just as he had hoped, he existed on a new level now, not losing his identity with a new link being established with the universe and his friends that would make him impossible to forget… …a link with the elements… Meanwhile, after Comet’s friends had been teleported to the part of the Crystal Brighthouse where the Unity Crystals were, they began shaking their heads and rubbing their front hooves against them in confusion. While the memory erasure from the spell used to stop the comet had not taken effect, the effect of the memory loss spell Comet used on them before still remained. “He did it again…” Zipp said in annoyance. “I can’t remember anything before he teleported us here…except…” “The jewels…” Hitch interjected, having the same realization as Zipp. “Our cutie marks were glowing just like they were when Izzy brought the Nova Charm into the kitchen yesterday and when the Nova Charm split apart…meaning that the magic of the Nova Charm is still active, even as it’s in pieces…” It was then that Sunny could feel a strange energy pulsating from the Unity Crystals. Briefly, a purple light began to shine within them… “Something’s definitely amiss here…” Sunny said in a concerned tone of voice. “The magic from the Unity Crystals…I feel like it’s evolving…evolving to deal with a new threat…” “We have to get back to the Boardtrot right now…” a worried Izzy stated. “Comet may be able to erase our memories of our interactions with him, but a unicorn never forgets a pony’s sparkle. The way Comet’s luminescence was being warped by the darkness, it doesn’t matter if that memory leaves my mind because it’s stored in my soul…we need to make sure he’s alright!” Izzy’s friends, believing her concerns for Comet’s wellbeing to be valid, joined her on a trip back to the Boardtrot. Once the gang had made their way back there, however, they stumbled upon not a blue Auroricorn who was unsettled and unkempt, but a blue Auroricorn who appeared confident and composed. “Hi, new friends.” he nonchalantly greeted them with a smile. Author's Note "Hi, new friend! My name is..."
The Seventh ElementIzzy and her friends immediately noticed something off about the blue Auroricorn who had just greeted them. Izzy was especially suspicious, not just because of what he had said reminding her of the way she had greeted Sunny when she had first met her, but also because of something she could see that the others couldn’t…this Auroricorn’s luminescence… Sparky was also able to sense something different about this Auroricorn’s aura compared to the aura he felt back when he first met Comet. However, both auras felt pure to him, allowing him to trust this Auroricorn. Izzy, sensing benevolent energy too, decided to only press the Auroricorn on what was apparent to all her friends… “What do you mean, “new” friends?” she asked curiously. “Good…” the Auroricorn thought to himself, unphased by Izzy pressing him even as he and the others gave him suspecting looks, having planned for this. “It seems they still remember him and that he stopped casting spells to erase their memories of him, only wiping their minds of certain events. Now I’m certain of how I’m going to go about making necessary preparations…” “I’m just teasing.” he told them playfully. “Lately, I’ve not been feeling like myself, nor have I been proud of the way I’ve been acting around you all. Calling you my new friends is essentially my way of asking if we could kind of, you know…start over with a new me? I feel spending time with you here would be the perfect way for us to bond.” This caused Izzy and her friends to perk up, their looks of suspicion becoming looks of joy at the prospect of getting to spend time with Comet just like how they used to. “That…really would be perfect.” Izzy answered, despite being slightly hesitant, still seeing what her friends couldn’t see. “We can’t do it tonight though…” Hitch chimed in before he looked down at Sparky, whom he held in his foreleg. “Sparky needs to get to bed. Grandma Figgy’s going to be in town real soon to visit too. He and I both need our rest.” “The rest of us aren’t machines ourselves…” Zipp made a rejoinder before stretching a foreleg while yawning. “After all the time we already spent here tonight,” interjected Sunny, “I think it’s best for us to get some sleep and meet here in the morning.” “Totes!” Pipp exclaimed. “I want to be in tip-top shape before we do some more singing at the karaoke place here!” “Ah-ha…” the Auroricorn thought to himself. “That must be where they were singing the song I heard…” “We can’t wait to spend some time with you here, Comet.” Misty said happily. “Even before this weird stuff started happening, we never got the chance to really get to know you. I’m sure research kept you busy, but in any case, tomorrow’s our golden opportunity to help you truly feel like you’re one of us!” The Auroricorn beamed after Misty said that, feeling overjoyed…but also slightly guilty… “…What are these feelings coming over me?” he asked himself, feeling conflicted. “I’m getting the perfect chance to finally do what I’ve always wanted to do while fulfilling my duty…and yet…something about this doesn’t feel fair. Regardless, I can’t waver. I’m doing this for him too, after all…” “I’m looking forward to it!” he proclaimed energetically. “Let’s get back to the Brighthouse now and get our much needed rest!” As he and every pony else walked out of the Boardtrot, he took a look at something he had picked up from the ground before the others had arrived… “Just you wait…” he said to himself in his mind as he then looked up at the stars in the sky. “I’ll become the new you…” Little did he know, however, that the universe did not agree with what he was plotting as a bright, purple star faded into the darkness of the sky ominously… The next morning, he awoke in the guest room on the first floor of the Brighthouse, having slept on a bed that had previously been moved out of the guest room and into the attic for a reason Sunny was unaware of. He, however, knew the reason why… “Good grief…” he had told himself in thought. “To go that far…that’s not just dedication, that’s an attempt at self-punishment over feelings of guilt…” He then got up from the bed and eyed the drawer where the book, Forgotten Comet, was locked by magic he was able to sense. Using his magic to unlock the drawer, he gave the book a pensive gaze. “Ever since I was a colt, I was forced to have my entire life revolve around studying this and every spell known to my kind…” he said with disdain in his tone of voice. “But now, I finally have the opportunity to live the life I never had. Before I tell them the truth, I’m going to know what it’s like to have a fun life with friends for the first time!” After having breakfast with everyone else in the Brighthouse, the group headed to the Boardtrot. Once they arrived, the first thing they decided to do was visit a roller rink, something Sunny had suggested, given her love for rollerblading. To the surprise of her and her five closest friends, not only did their Auroricorn friend eagerly agree to rollerblading for their first activity, he turned out to be surprisingly good at it, beating all of them in a race. “Wahoo, yeah!” he gave an exclamation and a pump of a foreleg to rejoice in his victory as the others just stared at him, dumbfounded. “You…sure have a knack for this.” Sunny said in astonishment. “I wasn’t expecting you to have that much of an easier time skating on a surface less slippery than ice.” “Well, I wasn’t ever actually that bad at skating on ice when I was a kid.” he gave a reply that had the entire group raising eyebrows. “I just didn’t have the time to practice. Plus, having you all here helped motivate me. The new me tripping over himself on his first day here with you wouldn’t be a good look, heh heh.” “…That’s not what matters to us.” Izzy replied earnestly. “We just want you to be yourself and have fun.” “Understandable…” he made a simple response while trying to hide the fact that he was mildly irritated by Izzy and the others not being as impressed with his aptitude for rollerblading as he would’ve liked. Izzy and the others, able to read how he was feeling, decided it was best to give him a smile and move forward. “In any case,” interjected Hitch, “I feel the winner deserves a prize for his sick skills. All this rollerblading has had me feeling thirsty, so how about we go get some refreshments next? I’ll treat you to something!” The Auroricorn happily agreed to Hitch’s offer and left with the others to a café at the Boardtrot. Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Misty all ordered their favorite frappés while Hitch ordered Sparky cocoa in a kiddie cup, hot coffee for himself, and to his surprise, another hot coffee as the treat he had promised. “Are you…sure you don’t want cocoa?” Hitch had asked, knowing Comet was a cocoa specialist. “The cocoa here’s probably not as good as what I’ve had in Starlight Ridge.” the Auroricorn answered in a tone he tried to keep from sounding snooty. “Besides, I’ve always been more of a coffee pony.” “Well, I…guess we can be coffee buddies then, heh heh!” Hitch exclaimed playfully despite feeling bemused. Soon, every pony was sitting in a booth and enjoying their drinks. Hitch began pouring sugar in his coffee from a container before holding it out to the one he had ordered coffee for, offering it to him. To the surprise of him and everyone else, the response he received was… “No thanks, I usually like to drink it black.” “…Really?” a perplexed Zipp asked. “You make all different kinds of cocoa and you’re partial to black coffee?” For a brief moment, the Auroricorn was also perplexed, staring back at Zipp and the others with an awkward look on his face. Eventually, he sheepishly gave them an explanation of… “Well, I…like my caffeine for when I’m doing my research. I’d rather drink black coffee as opposed to cocoa when I have a lot of work to do to cut back on my sugar intake.” “Wouldn’t you know?” Zipp retorted. “I do the same thing.” “I don’t.” Izzy chimed in. “When I’m super busy, I must have sugar!” Every pony chuckled, even with a feeling of suspicion growing… After they were all finished with their drinks, Pipp decided this was the perfect time to visit the karaoke place, given that every pony had just had their caffeine. The Auroricorn eagerly agreed with what she suggested to the group, almost too eagerly… “Oh yes, we ABSOLUTELY have to go there!” he proclaimed with a type of vigor that felt off-putting. “And there’s this one song that we DEFINITELY need to sing!” “Chillax, we’ll go there and sing what you want to sing.” Pipp replied nonchalantly as the others smiled and nodded. “Even my Pippsqueaks who are still kids don’t tend to get this overexcited…” she said to herself in thought, keeping feelings of increased suspicion to herself, something her equally suspecting friends did as well. Once they arrived at the karaoke place, the Auroricorn insisted on singing the song the others had sung the night before, Let Your Magic Run Wild. He got on a stage by a microphone and began singing the lyrics of the song alongside the others standing beside him. Being by themselves with no other ponies in the karaoke place to judge their performance, mostly thanks to the Boardtrot being very new, it was easy for them to concentrate. They performed without any issue until the chorus, when a troubling event occurred... “ASTER…” The Auroricorn froze in place, he and the others ceasing to sing as this name was uttered by a loud, intimidating voice that was seemingly coming from nowhere. Out of everyone in the group, Izzy was the least surprised to hear the voice, recognizing it as the voice of the universe. She quickly noticed though that the Auroricorn was the most surprised to hear it because he recognized it… “Wha…what?!” he cried in shock in his mind, responding to the universe telepathically. “Why did you say my name for them all to hear?! What are you doing?!” “YOU CAN NOT REPLACE HIM…” the universe explained to him in his mind. “LOOK AT THE STONE…YOU WILL SEE THE TRUTH…” Listening to what the universe told him, he examined the object he had picked up from the ground the night before, the purple stone that had come off Comet’s star-shaped accessory and realized that there was dark energy emanating from it. Looking up at his own star-shaped accessory, he observed the same phenomenon… “No…this can’t be right…” he thought to himself in disbelief. “You mean…I’m not the seventh element?! I can’t assume his role?!” He started breaking out in a cold sweat, having great difficulty processing this revelation. The others quickly noticed and asked with concern… “Hey, are you okay?” “…Y-y-yes…” he answered nervously, stammering. “I just…need some time alone for a little bit. How about we regroup at the café later?” “Sure.” they readily obliged, seizing the opportunity to have their own private discussion. Once he had departed the karaoke place, making his way to a bench where he could sit and contemplate what had just happened, the others began their private talk… “Okay, we need to talk turkey, gang.” Zipp stated outright. “Something’s seriously not right here.” “You can say that again.” Pipp made a rejoinder. “Definitely not every day when that kind of thing happens.” “Not to mention the uncharacteristic way Comet’s been acting…” Misty interjected. “I could sense a dark energy around him…” Sunny remarked worriedly. “Like the energy from that purple glow in the Brighthouse, but corrupted…” “He’s hiding something from us, there’s no doubt about it.” Hitch proclaimed with certainty. “Did that voice call him…Aster? I wonder if he even really is…” He, Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and Misty all wondered the same thing before deciding to put the thought aside for the time being. “In any case,” he continued, “there has to be some way to get him to come clean, but what?” Izzy, unlike her friends, had kept quiet. She had known from the start what had really been going on with their Auroricorn friend…looking over at Sparky and remembering his love for cocoa, she had an idea, communicating it to him with gestures. She brought a front hoof to her mouth and acted like she was sipping something out of a cup before blowing on it while using her magic to make something that looked like a small flame appear with her horn. She then winked at Sparky, who winked back at her… “I have an idea, Hitch…” she proceeded to tell her friend while grinning eagerly. Meanwhile, their Auroricorn friend had been communicating with the universe telepathically and was told more about how he couldn’t replace the true bearer of the seventh element. He was not Comet, the true bearer. Aster, the name the universe addressed him as, was his real name and he was the relative Comet had taken from him by the Forgotten Comet. He’d fully regained his identity. The power of Comet’s magic combined with the power of his own magic had restored him, but unfortunately, it was at a great cost. He had been made whole again just as the universe had promised Comet, but Comet’s mistake had caused him to stay fused with the Forgotten Comet after merging with it, unable to properly recreate it and failing to break the cycle. With Comet unwittingly neglecting to fulfill his duty as the seventh element, even uniting his magic with his brother’s could not surpass the comet’s power… In just two days, the Forgotten Comet would return yet again, coming back sooner than ever before as a result of the seventh element’s creation and the strong desire in the hearts of Comet’s friends and brother to have him back, bolstered by remembering him through his link to the elements. Aster always knew he had to tell Comet’s friends the truth, but he was disillusioned over how it seemed he would have to tell them immediately as opposed to letting them gradually find out. “So much for my first day of fun with friends…” he told himself despondently. “I guess I really am meant to be alone…” “No, you’re not.” Izzy gave him comforting words, surprising him as he turned to face her coming up to the bench. “You just need to understand that we want the real you…” “Uh…” Aster could only say that in embarrassment while blushing red over his mistake of talking out loud. “I have a feeling you like cocoa more than you let on…” Izzy said in a sly tone of voice. “Why don’t you try making some back at the café? Sparky’s craving salty cinnamon cocoa…” “Uh…sure.” Aster answered nervously, seeing no other option but to just go along as he followed Izzy to the café they agreed to regroup at. Soon, Aster found himself at the same table in the café he and the others had sat at before. This time, however, he was greeted with a small kettle filled with hot water, a small cup with a small spoon in it, and a container of cocoa powder, all of which had been borrowed from the café’s kitchen by Izzy and her friends with permission from the kitchen staff who appreciated them and their patronage. “As much as my little buddy likes the cocoa they make here,” explained Hitch, “what he really needs to satisfy his cocoa fixation is cocoa made by a cocoa specialist. Making a little cup of salty cinnamon cocoa wouldn’t be too much trouble for you, right?” “…Nnnot at all.” Aster replied sheepishly, trying to mask his discomfort with a big grin. Looking at what was on the table, Aster quickly noticed that there was no salt or cinnamon in front of him. Using his magic, he levitated a saltshaker and a cinnamon container, both put out where sweetener packets, stirrers, and napkins were, over to the table. He then proceeded to put salt and cinnamon into the cocoa cup before adding hot water to it, unaware of the fact that there was no need for this with the cocoa powder already being salty cinnamon flavor. As Aster stirred the cocoa with the spoon, he was fearful that he had messed it up as he gave it to Sparky. However, to his surprise, when Sparky brought the cocoa to his lips to blow on it before drinking it, he could see Sparky put a bit of his dragon fire into the cocoa, transforming it into the kind of cocoa he remembered drinking when he first visited Starlight Ridge. “Uroo, woo!” he cried cheerfully, loving the taste of the cocoa. Everyone besides Sparky and Izzy looked confused. Izzy just smiled a sweet smile at Aster, a look that was soon shared by her friends, who knew Izzy had suggested this for a reason. Izzy then came over to Aster and whispered this in his ear… “As much as we want the real you, we want you to be the real you because you want to.” Aster blushed again, briefly gasping as he started catching on. “Now it makes sense to me, the remarkable purity of the hearts of these ponies…” he thought in realization and admiration. “They’re just like the universe, knowing that we can’t be forced to be who we’re meant to be. They know it takes time for us to discover who we really are and what we’re meant to do in this world. I always pushed myself because of pressure from others and wanted to show them that I could be just like my brother, but better…but now, I see that no pony could ever replace my brother. I’m not better than him, and they don’t want a better version of him anyway…they want me…” Aster began smiling himself, now ready to tell everyone the truth… “I’m not Comet. I’m Aster, his long-lost twin brother. The real Comet sacrificed himself to bring me back.” Izzy and her friends gasped upon hearing his confession, and immediately began asking questions of concern about what exactly happened to Comet the night before. Aster then began explaining everything Comet had erased from their minds about the Forgotten Comet, as well as all of the new information the universe had relayed to him. He told them all the necessary preparations they would have to make to end the cycle of the Forgotten Comet for good… To do this, they would have to go to the root of its darkness...the darkness may be able to grow stronger as light grows stronger, but what determines the triumph of one over the other is the stronger will… Author's Note Just one more chapter to go now, the finale will be posted next week. This may be my last story, so be prepared...
Comet Will Always Be RememberedAfter Aster had told his friends everything they needed to know, including what the universe told him about Comet being the true bearer of the seventh element, it was time for him and the rest of the group to begin their essential preparations for stopping the Forgotten Comet for good and saving Comet. When they came back to the Crystal Brighthouse, they wasted no time in making their way to where the Unity Crystals were held and examining the purple light now being emitted by them. Aster then looked at the purple stone dropped from Comet’s star-shaped accessory and noticed that it was reacting to the Unity Crystals, now emanating both light energy and dark energy. “I sense great power from these crystals and this stone…” Aster remarked in amazement. “Is this a result of me accepting the truth about myself and being honest with you ponies?” “I believe so…” Sunny said with hope in her new friend as she transformed into an alicorn. “Once we’re done here, I think there’s another set of magical crystals we should check out…” Sunny then used her alicorn magic on the purple stone reacting to the Unity Crystals… Later, they came down to the first floor of the Brighthouse, where Zipp and Hitch began talking to Aster about something that had been on their minds for a while. “Before Comet left this place,” explained Zipp as she showed the sketch of Comet’s she had photographed on her phone to Aster, “we found something interesting in his room…” “Given what you’ve told us now about how Comet is “the seventh element”…” Hitch interjected. “…this sketch of his is starting to make me feel a stronger hunch than ever about how he was able to obtain such powerful magic in such a short period of time…” After looking at the photograph Zipp had shown him and then looking back at the purple stone Sunny had used her magic on, Aster had an idea…an idea he wanted to share with Izzy and Misty… “Hey, Izzy…” he said to her. “Remember when you saw me in that dream where I talked to you about that amusement park in space?” “How could I ever forget?” Izzy retorted jubilantly. “Well, heh heh…” he replied with a chuckle. “That actually was me. The universe allowed me to communicate with you in your dreams, knowing that your creativity would be a crucial instrument in stopping the Forgotten Comet in a scenario like this…” “Yes!” Izzy cried happily with a pump of her foreleg. “I knew the universe trusted in creativity to save the day!” “And you, Misty…” he said to Misty as he turned to her. “Your element is empathy, right?” “Yeah.” Misty readily answered. “Something tells me that power of yours will come in handy…” he spoke in a foreboding tone. “After all, the true origin of the Forgotten Comet is not what any pony would expect. The book never documented the tragedy its first victim suffered before he forgot his identity, something I discovered after I merged with it…” A forlorn look formed on Misty’s face, feeling sympathetic as something told her that the comet’s first victim was just like her. She looked over at the guest room and was able to recall how she saw it after Comet appeared from it exactly. Nothing done to her mind could alter her memory of the sight…the familiar feeling it evoked was too powerful. “Uwa, ho, ho!” Sparky made a cheerful cry as he ran around the first floor of the Brighthouse, still full of energy from the cocoa he drank, something that caught Hitch’s attention. “Hope he’s not going to be up all night…” he remarked with a sigh. “Grandma Figgy’s going to be over tomorrow. With that comet coming in two days, I really should ask her to babysit Sparky. It would be a good way to keep him out of harm’s way.” “Hmm, I wonder…” Aster said to himself, getting an idea. Earlier, he had asked the others about Sparky’s powers, wanting to know exactly what the bit of fire he had seen Sparky blow into the cocoa he made had done. He received confirmation of what he postulated, Sparky’s fire being able to transform things into objects of any kind. Although it couldn’t affect living, ensouled things, making it ineffective against the Forgotten Comet in the state it was in, he felt that something so powerful would have to have some kind of use regardless… “What’s on your mind?” Hitch inquired. “Once the threat of the comet is neutralized,” answered Aster, “we could have your grandma come join us to celebrate our victory. I have an idea for how we could create an unforgettable firework show…” “Ooh, I love fireworks!” Pipp exclaimed in delight. “That’s what I call #Fab! We just need to make sure that before that, we get the performance of our song right! I’m going to work extra hard to ensure the song sounds absolutely peeerrrfect!” “I have a good feeling that your magical touch with music will give us that extra boost we need to reach my brother from within the Forgotten Comet…” Aster talked in a foreboding tone again, aware of the dream his brother had before he left the Brighthouse... Eventually, nighttime came and every pony turned in. Aster, however, did not go to sleep right away. He studied the books his brother had left behind, including his copy of Forgotten Comet. After some time, he took two books, levitating them with magic, and cast a spell on them that caused them to disappear and reappear, exchanging places. The next day, the group returned to the Boardtrot after saying goodbye to a cheerful Grandma Figgy, who had visited the Brighthouse and happily agreed to watch Sparky. The purple stone Aster had that was now infused with Sunny’s magic reacted to the pieces of the Nova Charm upon their arrival, prompting the group to test something Hitch and Zipp suggested… Izzy could feel a strange power stirring within her upon entering the Boardtrot that day…once she began putting her creative skills to the test, she could feel like the universe was telling her that she would be changed forever soon… Every pony in the group worked long and hard on performing Let Your Magic Run Wild in the karaoke place, spending that day and the day that followed ensuring their performance of the song was flawless until it was time… “Now is the time to light up the sky…” Izzy said with complete sincerity. Meanwhile, Comet was fighting to keep a hold on his consciousness, maintaining the sense of identity that he had kept from his link with the elements, inside of the Forgotten Comet, submerged in total darkness with the influence of vengeful spirits taking a toll on his mind… “Oh…this is awful…” he lamented. “How bad must it have been for my brother?” Comet wanted to cry as he began to remember how he and his brother were always so different. While he always got to play with new friends and explore new things when he was younger, his brother was always isolated in his room, forced to study the same books and spells with the pressure being put on him to be the one to stop the Forgotten Comet. And then, of course, the Forgotten Comet ended up taking him anyway… “I know he called me his friend…” a doubtful Comet somberly reminded himself. “…but now that I’m experiencing just a bit of the torture he endured here, I can’t help but feel that deep down…my brother hates me…” Comet would soon be proven wrong, however, for the Forgotten Comet was now getting close to the Boardtrot, where the vision he saw in his dream would become reality… “Let your magic run wild…” Comet immediately felt a chill in his soul when he began hearing the lyrics of this song, recognizing the voices of his brother and his friends, who were all giving the Forgotten Comet a serious glare. Then, just like in his dream, he could see himself getting closer and closer to his friends and an Auroricorn who looked exactly like him… “I…I remember this…” Comet said to himself in awe upon experiencing déjà vu, seeing the determination in the eyes of his loved ones who had a magical aura exuding from them. The chill he felt then became replaced by a feeling of relaxation as the song’s tune began to soothe him. The magic of Pipp’s singing was allowing not just her friends, but his brother to communicate a message of love to him through the song, a song that was stifling the influence of the vengeful spirits. Comet felt a sense of undiluted relief and joy as he started to realize exactly why he was feeling a sensation of tranquility… “My brother doesn’t hate me…” he told himself happily. “The message of this song, unleashing your passion and being who you’re meant to be…this is my brother’s way of telling me that he doesn’t want me to suffer the pain of isolation he went through!” With that realization, Comet’s field of vision went completely white as the knowledge that his brother loved him gave him the power to break free of the Forgotten Comet’s hold. “WHAT?!” a dark, vengeful spirit who acted as the core of the Forgotten Comet cried in shock. “This can’t be!” Comet’s soul, shining with brilliant radiance, appearing in the form of a star, left the Forgotten Comet, causing it to become unable to move. It floated in the air as a formless blob of dark energy, contorting strangely as it began to destabilize. “Comet’s free!” Comet’s friends declared exuberantly. “We did it!” “Not quite…” Aster remarked solemnly. “We still have to recreate the comet…” He used his magic to levitate the purple stone Sunny had charged with her alicorn magic in the air before looking over at Izzy. “Remember, don’t overdo it…” he told her ominously as he began to levitate himself in the air along with the stone. “Despite the circumstances, both the universe and I want you to take care of yourself…” Izzy simply looked up at the stars shining brightly in the sky and then looked away, thinking to herself… “Sorry Aster…but remembering what you told me in that dream…makes me feel that pushing myself past my creative limit is my destiny…” Aster proceeded to levitate himself toward the soul of his brother and held out the stone. The magic infused with it combined with his magic was able to collect bits of stardust from the still stunned Forgotten Comet and create a new body for his brother’s soul to occupy. “Yes…” Izzy thought to herself pensively. “This is the secret of the universe that makes restoration possible. We are all made of stardust, but not just any ordinary kind of stardust, a magical type of stardust that resonates with souls. Souls that are especially strong, containing extraordinary amounts of light energy, are capable of having the small bits of stardust that still contain their will reassembled into a complete form by the magic of willpower. However, this form is not like the physical body of a pony. Rather, it is the form of a star taking the shape of a pony…” “Gggrrr…” the core of the Forgotten Comet growled as the bits of stardust it had broken Comet into were taken from it and coalesced into the shape of Comet’s body. Once his brother was now alive again in the form of a star, Aster held the stone up to where it had originally fallen from his brother’s star-shaped accessory and cast a spell that caused the two to briefly disappear in a flash of light. When the two reappeared, the stone was now reattached to Comet’s star-shaped accessory. “I won’t let you break the cycle…” the comet’s core said with venom in his voice, his rage motivating him to fight harder and summon all the power he could muster to break the stun he was in. His will was growing stronger…allowing him to vaguely recall his former self… The dark energy of the Forgotten Comet then took the form of a pony that looked just like Comet… “Before the cycle began…” he declared in an unnerving tone of voice, charging magic in the horn he now had. “I was just like you…and once I was changed forever by this darkness, I knew for absolute certain that being like you…IS NOT WHAT I EXIST FOR!” With that cry, the comet’s core fired a blast of destructive dark energy at Aster and Comet, seeking to destroy them both simultaneously. Anticipating this, however, the Auroricorn floating in the area where Comet was revived used his magic to quickly move his brother to the ground. The blast only hit him, reducing his body to bits of stardust that the comet’s core immediately began to absorb. All of the Auroricorn’s friends were utterly shocked, deeply hurt, and incensed by this sight…especially his brother and Izzy, whose eyes began glowing white. She began charging her horn with magic so powerful, it caused her body to change and levitate in the air… “You’re going to regret that…” Izzy warned the comet’s core angrily. “Big talk…” the comet’s core scoffed as he began charging up another blast of destructive, dark magic. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I just effortlessly snuffed out your precious Comet.” “So wrong…” Izzy retorted as she finished charging her magic. “Even if you were to actually get rid of Comet for real, it wouldn’t change the fact that he’ll always be remembered. And now, it’s time for you to open your eyes and remember who you really are…” “Feh!” the comet’s core exclaimed defiantly as he saw Izzy shoot the magic she was charging into the sky. “I don’t know what you’re blathering about or what you were even aiming at, but it’s not like I care. This is the end for you, after all!” Once the comet’s core had finished charging his blast, he prepared to fire his magic at Izzy and destroy her, only to be stopped by a large blast of light magic hitting him from above. “WHAT IN THE…UH!” the comet’s core cried, the blast not only stunning him, but causing his mind to flash back to who he was in the past. “What…why am I now able to remember…” he said to himself in disbelief as he started having a vivid recollection of the experiences he had when he was alive as a young stallion that bore a similar resemblance to Comet. In his mind, he could see himself having fun while playing with his friends in Starlight Ridge before he learned the news of how his sister had been chosen to become the next leader of the village instead of him despite his exceptional magical power. This news inundated him with intense jealousy…jealousy he attempted to repress. “I should’ve studied harder instead of wasting time playing with my friends…” he told himself tearfully one night when he was outside, looking up at the stars. “I’m not going to complain about it…I need to keep this to myself…no one else should be burdened by my insignificant problems…” Unfortunately, the stallion didn’t realize that his jealousy was corrupting his powerful magic, creating a force that attracted something evil…vengeful ghosts roaming the sky. Their grudges against ponies who had hurt them in life made them unable to find harmony in the sky after death. Merging together, they formed a ball of dark, corrupted energy that headed toward the stallion… “UUUGGGAAAHHH!” the comet’s core cried in shock as the recollection ended there and he snapped back to reality. He then looked below and saw that the only pony standing before him now was a blue Auroricorn charging a new spell. Having merged with a comet before, the Auroricorn could now make himself like one… “Hey, where did your friends go?!” the comet’s core yelled in a demanding tone as he started charging another spell. “Where did that blast come from and what did it do to me?!” The only response he received was a long moment of silence, enraging him. “FINE!” he cried irately. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll just KILL YOU! I’ve already destroyed Comet, so taking you out of the picture, Aster, will guarantee I triumph!” However, once the comet’s core fired his blast at the Auroricorn below, he began to realize that something was off as a chant became audible to him… “No matter how often I fall down, I never get lost in the commotion. On every new adventure, my heart shines with devotion!” From the stone in the Auroricorn’s star-shaped accessory, a bright, orange bubble created from Sunny’s magic appeared around him, shielding him from the blast. The Auroricorn then smirked at the now worried comet’s core, figuring out what was going on… “You…you’re not Aster…” he said in surprise, knowing that this magic could only be the work of the seventh element, the element of devotion. “You’re Comet…the Auroricorn I destroyed earlier was…” “ME!” another Auroricorn in the form of stardust giddily exclaimed, seeing that his plan had worked. “You fell for my trap! I switched places with my brother and let you absorb me…so that I could do THIS!” “NO!” the comet’s core yelled in horror as he looked up at his horn and noticed that it was covered in stardust, Aster’s power rendering him unable to perform any more spells. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!” “Oh, yes it is…” Comet retorted gleefully as he lifted himself in the air with his magic. “It looks like this tale of twin stars is going to end with our triumph rather than yours…” “He can’t dodge or defend himself…” Aster informed his brother. “I’ve had enough time to spread enough magic inside of him to put him under total lockdown…let’s finish him now.” “NNNNNOOOOO!” the comet’s core continued to scream. “THE CYCLE ENDS FOREVER NOW!” the two brothers declared as Comet revealed what kind of spell he had been preparing… …it was a spell to transform his body into a ball of light energy that slammed itself against the comet’s core with a comet’s speed and force. The comet’s core vomited every vengeful spirit inside of him out of his mouth as the ball of light energy Comet now was began to carry him up to the sky at the same incredible speed he had struck him with. “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME?!” the comet’s core shrieked. “Here’s a clue…” Aster taunted. “Look up.” The comet’s core then looked up to see a sight beyond his comprehension…an amusement park just like the one below them was floating in space. “WHAT IN THE…” he commented, almost at a loss for words. He then noticed something else about this amusement park as he was lifted above it and got a bird eye’s view of it. One thing different from the park below was that this park had laser lights shining in the sky, coming from six large, magical stones that were placed in a circle on the ground. They all matched the colors of the pieces of the Nova Charm, being connected to said pieces. Earlier that day, Hitch and Zipp had discovered that with the Nova Charm now being connected to their elements, they could harness power from it and store it inside of anything, like these stones. At the center of the circle the stones made was a laser cannon. This was the source of the attack that had struck the comet’s core from above, drawing power from the crystals that had received energy from Izzy and her friends and the stars in the sky. These crystals were special after all…they were elements that could restore the memories of others… Izzy and her friends were now standing by the cannon and looking up at the sky triumphantly, having been teleported here by the Nova Charm’s magic, which also made them and any inhabitant able to breathe in outer space. The magic of this new Boardtrot kept itself and anyone inside it safe from anything hostile in the environment of outer space, in addition to allowing anyone to keep themselves on its floor. “HOW IS THIS…” the comet’s core uttered in disbelief. “You’d be surprised by what even something as simple as a song performed by true friends can do…” Aster remarked heartily, quoting what Izzy had told him in the dream of hers he had appeared in. “The magic from our song wasn’t just meant to free my brother from your clutches, it was also meant to power this cannon. When Izzy fired that magical blast into the sky, that was to give the stars in the sky extra power to give it the extra boost it needed to be fired.” “You…you planned all this…” the comet’s core continued to speak in disbelief, his anger beginning to abate and become amazement. “You were actually able to do all this…” “It wasn’t easy…” Izzy chimed in, meaning what she said as she could feel her transformation approaching completion. “But creative types never stop until they complete their dream projects when they have the right motivation. My drive will never waver so long as I have my friends…and my friends and I want to help you…” “The crystals showed us the memories that returned to you when you were hit by the cannon…” Misty interjected in a sympathetic tone of voice. “I understand why you felt you had to hold all that negativity in…but no matter how much you try to bottle negativity up, it always spills out eventually, one way or another. No matter how afraid you are, the darkness inside of you is something you have to deal with and grow stronger from…” The comet’s core then looked around and saw that the vengeful ghosts he had thrown up earlier were now becoming one with the sky, some becoming darkness as others were becoming stars. After all the spirits became one with the sky, he felt for sure he could hear one of the stars talking to him in a familiar voice… “I’m so sorry for what you went through, I only wish I had known when we were growing up together…but it’s time for letting go…it’s time to restore balance to the universe…my brother.” “Sister…” he impulsively muttered in surprise, becoming overwhelmed with a feeling of peace as he knew in his heart that the voice belonged to the soul of the first village leader of Starlight Ridge to stop the Forgotten Comet. “We’re not so different from you…” Aster told the comet’s core in a warm tone of voice. “I believe this is why the universe wanted this seemingly endless cycle to be stopped by two siblings and an amazing group of friends…” “The universe wanted us to show you that you have to let hate leave you before love can take its place.” Comet provided words of comfort of his own. “Now that you’re no longer possessed by negativity…will you allow the stars to aid in your escape?” The comet’s core looked up at the sky again, and marveling at how beautiful the stars looked now, he smiled and knew what his answer would be… “Yes.” he responded happily, knowing the will of light had overcome the will of darkness. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want to be among the stars…so that I can make some new memories with them…” With that, Aster and Comet both took the form of stars and made a motion around the comet’s core, causing his soul to leave the form of darkness he was in, recreating the darkness inside his heart as light. The dark amalgamation of energy his soul occupied was left hovering in the air as his soul took the form of a star that levitated up to the sky. It moved close to another star that seemed to be drawn towards it as both stars began to glow… Aster and Comet looked upon this sight and smiled in great satisfaction, elated in seeing the fruits of their labor in not just the fight they had fought against something so overwhelming, but also the brotherly love they had spread to two siblings… Izzy and her friends were admiring the sight with a sense of euphoria as well. However, they and the Auroricorn brothers knew this ordeal wasn’t over just yet. As the Auroricorn brothers levitated down to the ground and assumed their pony forms, they joined their friends in sternly glaring at the dark blob that was still floating above them. A now lifeless, soulless mass of corrupted energy that had disrupted the balance of light and darkness in the universe, it had to be recreated into something that could never harm anyone ever again… “I know what you’re thinking…” the universe told them. “Don’t worry, I spoke with a pony you’re familiar with ahead of time…she’ll be arriving shortly with the one who holds a powerful magic of recreation that will ensure all of the corrupted energy is transformed into something new…” Sure enough, a pony they knew was soon teleported to the Boardtrot in space, appearing behind them in a flash of light. It was Grandma Figgy, holding Sparky in a foreleg. Looking up at the dark blob and then looking at the ponies around her, she shot them a smile that changed their serious expressions into happy ones before saying… “Who wants to do the honors?” All of them knew what she meant… “I…” Hitch was about to say he would do it, before something compelled him to turn to Izzy. All of Izzy’s friends turned to her as well, sensing that there was something about Izzy that made her the perfect pony for the task…a transformation that was nearing its completion… “I…think Izzy should be the one to have the honor.” he told his grandma serenely, who then gave Sparky to Izzy. “Now is the time to really light up the sky…” Izzy remarked with excitement, taking Sparky in hoof. She then ascended towards the dark blob, a magical energy surrounding her causing her to naturally float. Sparky then breathed his magical fire on the dark blob, merging with the blob and transforming it into crackling fireworks ready to blast off. They were launched high up into the sky, where they exploded into multi-colored lights, making the already incredibly bright stars shine even brighter. However, all of the ponies below could clearly see that the brightest star of all… …was their friend, Izzy. Her transformation was complete, she now held Sparky not with hooves, but magical energy. She was now a star, just like Aster and Comet…for the amount of energy she had poured into creating the second Boardtrot and giving it the magic it needed to defeat the comet had destroyed her body and reshaped it into this form… The star that Izzy now was descended back to the second Boardtrot’s floor in the form of a pony, happily handing Sparky back to Figgy. However, every pony was giving her a disbelieving look, prompting her to frown. Turning her head to the floor and frowning with her eyes closed, she decided to be upfront with her friends, telling them… “I’m sorry…” She told them the full truth about the secret of the universe that made the restoration of a destroyed pony possible and why she was a star now. All of them began to cry and gave her a hug. “I really wish it didn’t have to be like this…but everything in my soul was telling me that I had to give it my all…” she said solemnly. “It had to be this Boardtrot’s magic. It’s more powerful than the magic of the Boardtrot below because of it being closer to the stars. Know that things aren’t always what they seem though. This just means that I’m just like Aster and Comet now, the twin stars who worked together to save the day.” “Even if we’re not exactly alive…” Aster interjected in a hopeful tone of voice. “None of us are actually dead either.” “I was scared at first…” Comet told everyone straightly. “…because I knew that the Forgotten Comet had never been stopped without a sacrifice before. However, the will to sacrifice is just what it means to have devotion. Devotion alone isn’t enough though to make an unforgettable impact on the world…” Comet knew in his heart now who his best friend was, the one the universe was referring to when it promised him he’d shine brighter than ever before… He and Izzy then looked at each other with passionate smiles of understanding on their faces before they looked back at their friends and said… “It takes devotion and creativity.” He and Izzy then looked up at the sky and saw that the stars were forming constellations in the sky. The constellations drawn were showing their cutie marks, the marks of their destiny. This led both him and Izzy to feel a strong sensation welling in their souls… …they felt as if the stars in the sky were calling them to float up to the sky and make something it and the universe had foretold a reality… Without another moment of hesitation, the two both levitated up towards the sky and began to dance around where the moon was in the form of stars. Light from them and the other stars around them then began to shine on Izzy’s friends, who also started feeling a powerful sensation in their souls. Before they knew it, they were instinctively closing their eyes and smiling as a magical aura of rainbow light formed around them and made its way to where Izzy and Comet were dancing, shining with an especially radiant glow. The rainbow light made the shape of a heart around them, and once they had completed their dance, that same rainbow light was shared with every star in the sky that now had a rainbow-colored aura… Everyone below was crying tears of joy, filled with pure admiration. They knew that no matter what the future had in store, they could overcome it. The power of the elements Izzy’s friends represented joining together would break any seemingly endless cycle of destruction and misery. Aster could never have understood better now why the universe stopped him from trying to take his brother’s place as the seventh element. Despite him being extremely devoted, just like his brother, he didn’t have a bond like his brother’s with Izzy and her friends…and he couldn’t create a bond with them through not being honest about who he was. Everyone in the universe had a purpose, that purpose being to create unforgettable experiences for others while never giving up on what they were meant to accomplish. Even the simplest things could have impacts on others that they would remember forever. To create something truly impactful though, one must be true to oneself. Aster believed now that this was the reason why the universe had to withhold secrets, for if one knew everything about how the universe worked, that would make one’s personal experiences with the universe less authentic. He believed now that the universe wanted everyone’s personal experiences in life to feel as genuine as possible so that the memories created from those experiences would truly never be forgotten. The universe cared very deeply for memories… …for the universe itself had a memory…and this was exactly how it wanted to remember the ending of the tale of twin stars… Aster decided that night that he would write a book about the tale…and he’d call it… The Comet That Will Always Be Remembered. Author's Note That's the end of what might be my last story. This definitely won't be the end of my work on MLP fan content though and I would love to come back to writing stories when I feel the drive to do so again. Hope to do all sorts of things that will make you all happy in the future!
