Hold Your Horses: A My Little Pony Story

One by one, Chorus, Prose, Ginger Blush, Sombra, Twilight Sparkle, and Savoir Fare sprung out of the broken TV. They tumbled and stumbled, fumbling over the white floors of Time Jail. The ponies of the Recreation Room all diverted their attention to the group of ponies who consistently caused trouble all around them. It didn’t take long for the returning ponies to realize just where they were.

“We’re back?” Twilight cried. “I thought I was sending us home!”

Prose quickly leaped over to her mare, wrapping her in an embrace. “The spell was always meant to send us back here,” she confessed. “If we don’t stop Effie once and for all, we might not have a home to return to.”

A voice sounded from behind them, surprising them all.

“Good luck stopping me ‘once and for all’ when you’re all hopelessly trapped in Limbo,” Effie remarked.

There she stood, meters away from the ponies, as if she was awaiting their return.

“You ponies have made my job exponentially more difficult. I hope you’re proud of yourselves,” she snapped.

She impulsively began to charge her magic in her horn. They had seconds before they were all sent straight to Limbo, never to return. The magic swelled larger and larger, faster and faster, threatening banishment. Ginger Blush stepped in front of her friends, bracing herself for the worst.

“Stop!” she yelled. “Sandy, stop!”

Effie’s magic ceased. Her eyes widened. She stared at Ginger Blush.

“Who told you that name?” she asked her. “How do you know that name?”

Sombra stepped forward, next to his travel buddy.

“You’re Sandy Swirl from New Hoofsfield,” he said. “The daughter of Princess Aurora Glow.”

“Don’t say her name,” Effie snarled. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“We saw it, Sandy. We saw everything,” Ginger explained. “We saw the end of Equestria. We saw everything disappear before our eyes. You became the Final Pony.”

“It must’ve been really lonely being all alone at the end of time–losing everything. You lost your home, your mother,” Sombra added.

“Don’t TALK ABOUT HER!” Effie screamed, blasting magic out of her horn. The magic slashed across Ginger and Sombra, sending them flying backwards. Chorus urgently stepped forward, sensing Ginger and Sombra were onto something. It seemed like they’d begun to crack her, Chorus just had to break her.

“I’m so sorry, Effie,” he began. “If what they’re saying is true, then I’m so, so sorry. Nopony deserves what you’ve been through.”

Chorus caught a glance of a single tear dripping out of the corner of Effie’s eye. Twilight jumped forward, by Chorus’s side, ready to defend her travel buddy.

“I can’t imagine the pain you went through. I mean, we were only apart from each other for a short time, and it was awful!” Twilight exclaimed. “I can’t pretend to understand your pain.”

“You’re right,” Effie choked. “You can’t.”

Chorus and Twilight could tell they were breaking down her walls. It wouldn’t be too long until she would finally, truly listen.

“I understand why you’re doing what you’re doing,” Chorus reasoned. “But you have to stop. These ponies don’t deserve this! We don’t deserve this! You don’t deserve this!”

“There has to be another way!” Twilight added.

“You don’t get it,” Effie mumbled, tears building in her eyes. “You don’t GET IT!”

Once again, magic blasted out of Effie’s horn, cutting straight across Chorus and Twilight, sending them tumbling backwards, injured like Ginger and Sombra.

“I’m the ONLY pony that can do this!” Effie cried. “Don’t you get it? It’s all up to me. I’m the Final Pony. If I can’t stop it, that’s it. No more Equestria. Can’t you see that?”

Savoir took his stance in front of Effie, knowing their time was limited. He glanced back at his wounded friends, hoping he wouldn’t be joining them. He turned back to Effie.

“This isn’t the way,” he said, gesturing to the captivated ponies all around him, who were watching all of this go down. “A wise wizard of the past told me this has to stop. If you keep going like this, there won’t be an Equestria left to save.”

Prose joined her travel buddy, fully aware they were the final pair. She had to break Effie down, or this would be the end.

“You’re smart, Effie,” she chose her words carefully. “You know this won’t work. You know this isn’t the way. I know you miss your mother-”

“Don’t-” Effie warned. But she didn’t blast her magic. She stood, considering Prose’s words. Prose didn’t take that lightly. She considered her next words very thoughtfully.

“Effie- Sandy,” she addressed. “I know you know all of this. Nopony as smart as you could overlook something so obvious. Taking these ponies out of the timeline might seem like the only solution–stopping the problem at its source. But, you know it doesn’t work like that. I know you’ve been backtracking, mending the timeline. You have to have been, or it would’ve collapsed by now.”

“What else, then?” Effie contested. “If you’re so smart, what else can I do? I’ve run every calculation, Prose, and this is the closest I’ve come to a solution. I’ve accounted for every. Single. Variable.”

Prose and Savoir shared a worried glance. What if Effie was right? What if this was the only way? But it wasn’t. Prose suddenly knew what to say. If this didn’t work, nothing would.

“You’re wrong,” she stated.

Effie scoffed at her. “Excuse me?” she growled.

“You haven’t accounted for every single variable,” Prose confidently claimed.

“Yea?” Effie laughed. “Tell me, oh wise Prose, what mysterious variable did I just happen to miss after I meticulously analyzed every possibility over and over again? What magical amazing thing could simply put an end to all of this?”

Prose stared directly into Effie’s eyes. “You.”

Effie was taken aback. She looked at Prose like she’d said the most outlandish claim she’d ever heard.

“Me?” she guffawed. “Me. I’m the variable I’ve been missing? Give me a break. I think I know I’m part of the solution, Prose. I’m the only pony doing anything about the end of Equestria.”

“No, you’re not understanding,” Prose began.

“I’m not understanding!?” Effie snapped. She charged magic in her horn, sending it straight towards Prose. Prose braced for impact, accepting defeat. Defeat never came. Savoir lunged in front of Prose, accepting the blow in her place. Savoir was sent across the room with the rest of his friends, leaving Prose as the final pony standing. Prose had to speak fast. She wouldn’t let Savoir’s sacrifice be in vain.

“You’ve spent so long removing the things that you thought were wrong, but the solution could’ve been staring you right in the face the entire time. Instead of taking things out, put something in. Add yourself to the fight,” Prose earnestly spoke. “Effie, you’re one of the most powerful ponies I’ve ever met. If you were on the battlefield, I bet the fight would’ve been won. You could be the savior of Equestria.”

Effie stared down Prose. She was confused by her suggestion, but intrigued by the possibility. Her stance relaxed for the first time.

“You think… I can stop the end of Equestria?” Effie asked. “I’m one pony, Prose.”

“One very powerful pony,” Prose corrected.

“I’m still one pony,” she spoke. “I can’t prevent the end of Equestria all by myself.”

The staredown intensified. It seemed they were at a standstill. Amidst the silence, a quiet murmur stirred in the surrounding crowd of ponies. One pony stepped forward from the crowd, nervous, but hopeful.

“What if you… weren’t all by yourself,” Apple Crumble suggested, now standing much closer to Prose and Effie. “All of these ponies you’ve captured, you considered meaningful enough to cause the end of Equestria. What if they were meaningful enough to stop it?”

Effie stood in shock at the suggestion.

“Are you saying… you ponies, the ponies I’ve… I’ve imprisoned,” a twinge of guilt stained her words. “You would help me fight?”

Fizzy Fireshine stepped forward from the crowd, joining the conversation.

“We wouldn’t be doing it for you, Effie,” they retorted. “We’d be doing it for Equestria.”

“But, your families, your homes…” Effie trailed off.

“Prose says you’re smart, Effie,” Apple Crumble explained. “I’m sure you can find a way to weave us all back into the timeline after we win. You owe us that much.”

“... what makes you so certain we’ll win? What if we lose?” Effie worried.

“We might,” Fizzy admitted. “But nopony can say we didn’t try.”

Effie pursed her lips. It was clear one thing was still on her mind. The core of her anxieties, the most important piece of the puzzle. The tears that had been continuously welling up in her eyes finally tumbled over the edge. Effie began to cry.

“What about… her? What if… what if I can’t save my mom?” she choked.

Prose closed the gap between herself and Effie. She placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

“Then you’ll get something most ponies wish they had,” Prose said. “A chance to say goodbye. A chance to hold her one last time.”

Effie fell to her knees. She began to sob uncontrollably, completely breaking down. Her facade had faded, and everypony finally saw her: Sandy Swirl. The daughter of the princess. The scared little pony stuck at the end of the world.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I’m so sorry, everypony.”

Everypony watched Effie as she cried. Nopony knew what to say. From the edges of the walls, rustling emerged as the wounded ponies began to regain their strength. One by one, Chorus, Ginger Blush, Sombra, Twilight Sparkle, and Savoir Fare rejoined Prose. Chorus kneeled down to the floor, reaching Sandy’s level.

“We’re here, Sandy,” he consoled. “We’ll join the fight. And we’ll win. I know we will.”

She looked up at Chorus.

“No,” she spoke. “You six have done enough.”

Chorus was confused.

“Listen, I’m sorry if we came on too strong, I-”

Sandy interrupted him. “No, I needed to hear it. Thank you for telling me the truth. You’ve done what you needed to do. You deserve to rest. I’m sorry I put all of you through this. I’m sorry I put everypony through this.”

She lowered her head, charging her magic once more. The ponies winced, bracing for impact. Sandy blasted her magic towards them, encasing them in an orb of brilliant green and white. They instantly disappeared from Time Jail. Just as quickly as they’d arrived, they’d left without a trace.