My Little Senshi

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Meaning Behind the Dreams
Chapter 2: The Keeper of Time
Chapter 3: A Scout in Denial
Chapter 4: A Born Warrior
Chapter 5: The Elements of Harmony
Chapter 6: Back to Canterlot
Chapter 7: Accusations and Explanations
Chapter 8: Journey
Chapter 9: The Crystal Empire
Chapter 11: Crystal Fair
Chapter 12: The Crystal Heart
Chapter 13: The Search
Chapter 10: Crystal Ponies

Chapter 1: The Meaning Behind the Dreams

Chapter 1

The Meaning Behind Dreams

Twilight Sparkle had been having this odd dream for a few months now. Every night, she would toss and turn, and wake up either screaming or in a sweat. Spike would always be there, calming her down, fetching her a glass of water. Eventually he would drift off again, and Twilight would be left alone with the terrifying memories of the dreams.

After much research and reading, Twilight couldn't find any answers that might explain what her dreams were about or what the odd creatures were that she imagined. She finally decided to write a letter to Princess Celestia about the issue. When Celestia wrote back immediately, within the minute, and ordered that Twilight come to her at once, Twilight was nervous.

She hesitated outside of Celestia's throne room. What if the princess was mad at her? Because her dreams meant something terrible? Something so sinister, that the princess had to summon Twilight to Canterlot, in order to lock her up? Shaking the nonsense out of her head, Twilight took a deep breath and opened the door.

She was surprised to find that not only was Princess Luna there as well, but so was Princess Cadance. The three stopped whispering and looked up immediately as Twilight entered the room. Princess Celestia magically shut the door behind her.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia said gravely.

"Please, take a seat," Cadance said quietly, gesturing to a lounge chair they had set up in front of the thrones.

Twilight quietly took a seat. She stared at the three princesses, not even sure where she should begin. The three of them stared back at her, though Cadance kept avoiding direct eye contact and fidgeted with her hooves. Luna finally sighed and turned to Celestia.

"It's time she knows the truth," Luna said.

"I know," Celestia answered softly.

"It's not just a coincidence that she's been having these dreams for the past few months, and now suddenly it's returned," Luna said.

"I know," Celestia said, slightly more sternly. Celestia sighed and looked at Twilight.

"Twilight Sparkle, please, describe your dreams to me once more," Celestia said, "I know you wrote in great detail what occurred, but Princess Luna and Cadance need to be informed as well."

"Alright," Twilight said, "They've been happening for three months now. And it's not just when I go to sleep at night; they occur during naps and I'll see flashes of them in my day dreams too."

"Flashes of what?" Cadance asked.

"I can't even describe what they are. They're these beings, that walk on two legs. Their other two legs are attached higher up their torsos, and instead of hoofs, they have these odd ligaments stemming out from the ends of their legs. They don't have tails, but they still have manes.

"In the dream, I am one of them. The only thing about the dream that sometimes changes is my perspective. Sometimes I can see which one I am, what I look like in the dream, but other times, I see through my point of view. There is a big group of us and it looks like we're fighting. We're in what I'm guessing are uniforms, and we all have tiaras. There's something about a magic crystal and we're fighting off some darkness, a darkness that wants to take over our world."

"Is your name ever mentioned in the dream?" Celestia asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Not 'Twilight Sparkle', no. I'm being addressed as Amy."

Luna shot her sister a look. Cadance shifted in her seat. Celestia nodded slowly.

"What you are experiencing Twilight, are not dreams, but memories," Celestia said.

"Memories?" Twilight asked. Celestia nodded.

"Yes, memories from a past life. A life when we were all humans," Celestia said.

"Humans? What are humans?" Twilight asked.

"The beings that you see in your dream. They have two legs and two arms—those are the ones that are higher up—and instead of hooves, they have hands and feet. You see, your eternal spirit is slowly awakening and reminding you of who you really are. The world and universe has changed since that time; but now, it is time for you to wake up, because danger is coming," Celestia said.

"Danger is coming? To Equestria?" Twilight asked. Luna nodded.

Twilight sat there for a minute, trying to let it all sink in. Memories? Of a time when she was a human named Amy? When she fought against other humans? Any other pony would have figured that the princesses were pulling a joke. But Twilight knew better. And what was even stranger was that she was starting to believe it was true.

Even though the same dream plagued her every night, sometimes she'd have little flashes during the day of other scenes. Scenes of her, in her human form, with whom she supposed were her friends, having fun and laughing. Sometimes even fainter images would appear, images of what looked like a different landscape and a magnificent palace. Someplace close to the sun.

"She's starting to remember," Luna said.

"Your human name was Amy Mizuno. You also had a hero name; Sailor Mercury," Celestia said.

"Mercury? Like the planet?" Twilight asked. There was something about this that sounded very familiar.

"Yes," Celestia explained, "like the planet. We once all drew power from our planets, in order to protect our solar system from evil. We were—and still are—a strong united force."

Twilight nodded slowly, more and more of it coming back and sounding vaguely familiar.

"So then... why are we now ponies?" Twilight asked. Celestia sighed.

"There is much to explain, so please, get comfortable," Celestia said. Twilight nodded.

"I'm ready to listen," she said.

"There was a time, long, long ago—roughly maybe five or so thousand years ago, or longer; I have lost track—there was a kingdom called the Silver Millennium. It was a peaceful and prosperous time. I was raising my daughter to follow in my footsteps and become queen of the kingdom. You, Twilight Sparkle, were a princess on your respective planet—Mercury—and you served in my daughter's court.

"My daughter fell in love with the King of Earth. Because of this and a jealous scorn, a dark queen attacked our peaceful kingdom, and it fell to ruin. Everyone was killed—everyone except for me. Heartbroken from the devastation of my kingdom and my people, I used up the last of my crystal and power, in order for my daughter and her court to be reborn again, on Earth, a thousand years later.

"I hoped that they would be born into a different time, another time when peace reigned. But should they need to fight again, I made sure that they would be able to access their memories of who they really were. I broke the crystal—the Imperial Silver Crystal—into seven pieces, hoping that with it broken up, it would stay out of the wrong hands. But unfortunately, evil attacked once more.

"My daughter and her guardians raged countless of wars against darkness that purged Earth. And due to a time lapse, they once fought in their future as well.

"Eventually, my daughter had a daughter of her own. And once Earth was finally at peace, another millennium kingdom began. The heart of the kingdom was called Crystal Tokyo at that time. But evil struck once again halfway through the millennium. At this point, my daughter and granddaughter fought with all their strength; but as they were failing, I knew I had to make myself known.

"Together, the three of us vanquished that evil, but at a cost; as the dark king who attacked Crystal Tokyo disappeared, the crystal city vanished with him.

"Unsure of what to do, we decided to change the world and hopefully restore peace once more. With our combined powers, we completely transformed the earth. Humans no longer existed, and instead most of them became ponies. We made other creatures as well, ones that had been fabled in the past eras. We moved the hemispheres around, and created new lands.

"Princess Luna and I ruled together. We still remembered our past lives, but strongly took on our new identities. With a new world, we knew that our old ones had to be adjusted, and that we had to change along with the world."

Celestia stopped and Twilight let it start to sink in.

"We've been ruling for the past thousand or so years; most of which was when Luna was banished as Nightmare Moon," Celestia said. Luna sighed and glanced away.

"A time of which I would not like to remember," she said quietly.

"It's alright; we've all strayed from the path at some point," Cadance said quietly. Twilight wasn't sure what Cadance was referring to, but the name "Wicked Lady" flew through her mind, as well as a flash of a human with pink hair.

"And now," Twilight said slowly, "you say that there is danger coming?"

"Yes," Celestia said, a serious tone in her voice, "The Crystal Empire has reappeared."

"Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked.

"That is what we call it now, in our Equestrian times. The Crystal Empire—aka Crystal Tokyo—has reappeared up in the north. And we fear that the king who overtook it has returned as well," Celestia said.

"Tell me about this king," Twilight said.

"His name is King Sombra. He was an evil magician, from a dark planet on the outskirts of our solar system. The Empire reappeared once before, briefly, a thousand years ago; King Sombra reappeared with it, though now as a unicorn. We turned him to shadow and banished him to the outlands of the frozen north, freezing him in the ice. But with the Empire now suddenly returned, we fear that he will come back as well. The crystal ponies have been enslaved by him for years and years, in two different lives.

"We thought we would be safe as ponies, fool the universe in thinking that the Imperial Silver Crystal was destroyed, and that we were a simple kind of folk. But we were wrong," Luna said.

"What did happen to the crystals?" Twilight asked. Celestia smiled slightly.

"They are now the Elements of Harmony," she replied.

"But there are only six Elements; you said there were seven crystals," Twilight said.

"There is a seventh; but it can act on its own accord," Cadance said.

"So... what will you have me do?" Twilight asked.

"First, we need you to awaken the other sailor soldiers," Celestia said, after a minute of hesitation.

"Ok; do you know who they are in this life?" Twilight asked.

"They are your friends," Luna said.

"Rainbow Dash is the reincarnate of Sailor Mars; Applejack is Sailor Jupiter; Pinkie Pie is Sailor Venus; and Rarity is Sailor Pluto, the keeper of time," Luna said.

"What about Sailor Moon? Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. Celestia cleared her throat.

"My apologies; maybe I was not clear enough. I am—or once was—Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium. Princess Luna is your princess. She is Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity, and Queen of Crystal Tokyo. Cadance is Small Lady—her daughter," Celestia said. "In this life, we re-made ourselves so that Luna and I are sisters, and Cadance our niece."

"Are you going to fight with us then, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked. Luna shook her head.

"I cannot. My place is here, to guard Equestria with Celestia. That is our directive now," Luna said. "I am no longer a sailor soldier."

"But how can we fight without you?" Twilight asked.

"You have the Elements of Harmony. Together, they make up a powerful force. Combine them with the seventh Element, and you have the full power of the Imperial Silver Crystal," Luna explained. "I do not wield that power anymore."

"What of Tuxedo Mask?" Twilight asked. The more she talked about it with the princesses, the more her memories came back. It wasn't all together yet, but names kept floating around, and she felt she needed to ask about them.

Celestia and Cadance both glanced at Luna. Luna looked away and towards the window. She stared up at the moon.

"He did not make the last battle. We could not save him in time," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry to hear," Twilight said softly. She paused a moment. "And of Sailor Uranus and Neptune?"

"Lost as well," Luna replied.

"What about Helios?" Twilight asked, not sure if she'd regret it. She looked to Cadance. Cadance smiled briefly.

"Helios is Shining Armor," she said.

"But... Helios and I were never related to begin with," Twilight said, confused.

"We know. That is just the way you were reborn into this life, on this world. It's a coincidence," Cadance said.

The four of them sat there in silence for a minute. Twilight looked out the window and up at the moon. It was so strange to think that the same spirit inside her had resonated for so long.

"What about Luna and Artemis?" Twilight asked.

"Both are lost; I took Luna's name in this world as an ode to her. She was, and always will be, one of my dearest friends," Luna said softly.

"We provided you with Spike as your assistant and helper. He is completely original to this world," Cadance said.

"Go Twilight Sparkle and awaken the others. We need them to remember that they are warriors, and we need you to go to the Crystal Empire and find a way to protect it. Princess Cadance will be there as well as Shining Armor. They will put up a barrier around the Empire, as you find a way to defeat King Sombra," Celestia said.

Twilight nodded. She turned to go, but then paused.

"What about Sailor Saturn?" she asked, as she looked back to the princesses. Cadance looked away—she had once been so close with Saturn. Both Luna and Celestia's faces darkened.

"She lives among you; but she cannot be awakened. By awakening her, there is a chance that all of our lives would be put into danger, possibly more danger than what King Sombra brings," Luna said.

"If it must come to it, we shall awaken her as well; but for now, do not speak of your solider lives around her," Celestia said.

"Who is she?" Twilight asked, "in this life?"

"Fluttershy."

Chapter 2: The Keeper of Time

Chapter 2

The Keeper of Time

Twilight stood outside of the Carousel Boutique, her hoof hovering in front of the door. She had been hesitating for the past five minutes. Finally, she took a deep breath and knocked on Rarity's door.

The whole duration of her trip home from Canterlot, all Twilight could think about was what the princesses had told her. It was so much information to absorb—almost too much information—and although it felt like a far-fetched (and slightly crazy) idea that the princesses had just put in her head, Twilight knew it was the truth.

During her dreams, there had been no confusion on Twilight's part when the other humans referred to her as Amy. The name struck a chord in her heart and somehow seemed dear to her, like it was an endearing nickname.

The more she repeated her alternative name to herself, the more flashes kept appearing in her head. Twilight referred to them as "flashes" as opposed memories, because at the moment they still felt strange to her. She could see all of the images playing in her mind, and they all had a sense of déjà vu, but it wasn't quite like she was remembering yet. It was more like she was watching what had happened to her in her past lives.

By the looks of what she saw, there had been a lot of destruction. There were very few flashes of her life back on Mercury as a princess, but those that did come were the best. The castle decor shimmered and there were flashes of a light blue dress. Sometimes there was the face of a man and a warm embrace. But those flashes were very scarce and quick. More often, Twilight would see visions from what Luna had described as the late 20th and 30th centuries. Mostly it was of battle.

"Twilight! What a lovely surprise. What brings you here?" Rarity asked, as she opened the door and broke Twilight from her thoughts.

"We need to talk," Twilight said squarely. Rarity looked slightly taken back, but she put on a polite smile and gestured for Twilight to come inside.

"Shall I make some tea?" Rarity asked, as she shut the door behind her.

"That would be nice," Twilight said.

Together they walked into the kitchen. Twilight sat at the table and Rarity bustled around making tea.

"Do you want to start talking now?" Rarity asked.

"We should wait until you're sitting down," Twilight said. She watched as Rarity's face turned to concern.

Twilight sighed. She didn't know where to begin and hadn't even been sure of who to begin with. She had watched the flashes carefully on her way back to Ponyville, trying to get a sense of character for the other scouts, for which one of her friends would possibly be the easiest to approach first. It would have been easier to talk to them all at once—except she couldn't talk to Fluttershy. She had considered going against the princesses' word and talking to them all—really, how dangerous could this Sailor Saturn be?—but after seeing her in a few flashes, Twilight began to realize just what kind of destruction this scout could do.

So, after much debating and studying of what flashes came to her mind as she tried to recall more about her past life, she settled on talking to Rarity first. In her visions of their alternate life, Rarity, who went by the name of Trista Meioh, had seemed like one of the more mature scouts. She looked like the oldest and wisest of the bunch.

But Twilight had also picked up on something else out of the visions she had seen; Rarity had also been the loneliest of the scouts. Although eventually she grew to be warmer to the other sailor scouts, both inner and outer, there was always a distant, reserved look in Trista's eyes. As the Guardian of Time and Space, she had spent most of her life—the duration of which is unknown—isolated and guarding the door between worlds. The first friend she had made was with Small Lady—Cadance. A small part of Twilight felt a little awkward and guilty, that in this world, she had been the one to have a special connection with Cadance. Cadance had once been her foalsitter, and now she was her sister-in-law.

There's no need to feel guilty though; that's just silly. In this life, Rarity is one of the most social ponies ever. She craves the high-society life of a socialite, and has established herself as such. Maybe as a result of her lonely past, she was rewarded in this life as a social pony. I've not once ever seen Rarity look lonely. She's happy here... Hopefully she'll be just as happy when I tell her to remember...

"So Twilight; what is it that you wish to talk about? Is everything ok?" Rarity asked. She placed a cup of tea in front of Twilight and took a sip from her own. She smiled at her friend.

Twilight sort of smiled back. She took a long sip of tea. She wasn't quite sure of where to begin. How did you go about telling one of your best friends that she had an eternal soul—maybe the longest living one out of all of them—and that it was time for her to wake up and remember her old lives, so that they could go off and battle together?

Twilight even wondered why the princesses wanted her to awaken her friends. If they were to use the Elements of Harmony, why bother telling them about their past lives? The Elements worked with them in the here and now, as ponies, no sailor scouts required. And they involved Fluttershy, the shy, peaceful, internally-waiting-to-be-awakened-destructor.

"Well," Twilight said, as she set her cup down, "I've just come straight from Canterlot. I had a conference with the princesses."

"The princesses? Both of them? I do hope that nothing is amiss in Equestria," Rarity said.

"All three of them actually; Cadance was there as well," Twilight said. She paused. "I'd been having these nightmares for a while, and wrote to Princess Celestia about them."

"Oh," Rarity said. She quietly took a sip of her tea. "These dreams were bad enough for the princess to summon you? I do hope she provided you with a cure."

"She did, in a way. You see, she told me that the dreams were actually memories—memories from a past life," Twilight said slowly.

Twilight watched Rarity carefully, trying to gage if there was anything out of the ordinary in her reaction to what she was telling her. Rarity glanced away from Twilight; she seemed uncomfortable. She took a hasty sip of tea and waited a beat before she responded.

"M-memories you say? From a past life? Did they explain to you what this past life was?" Rarity asked.

Rarity shakily took another sip of tea. She spilt some on the table.

"Oh my," she said. She quickly wiped up the mess.

"Rarity, are you ok? Have you... have you been having these dreams as well?" Twilight asked.

Rarity sighed, her breath hitching for a second, as though she were about to cry. She didn't. She walked away from the table and stood in front of the window, and stared outside.

"No, I haven't been having the dreams," she said quietly. Twilight waited for her to continue. "I haven't been having the dreams or memory-retrieval, as we used to refer to them, because I don't need to retrieve my memories. They never left. I've been awake the whole time."

Twilight shook her head slightly, and tried to clear her thoughts and make sense of what Rarity was saying.

"Rarity... what are you saying? What do you mean you've been awake this whole time? You... you remember who you are?" Twilight asked.

"I don't 'remember' who I am, as the same way that you are remembering who you are Twilight Sparkle—or should I say Amy?—because my memories were never put away. They weren't hidden from me. I've known who I am this whole time; I've always known. My name is Trista, Trista Meioh. I was the princess of Pluto during the Silver Millennium, and served to protect the solar system from outer invasion. For much of my life, I have been the Keeper of Time and Space, and lived a solitary life guarding the door between worlds. I was alone guarding the door, and alone on my planet—which has been displaced as a planet now—for it was the furthest in our system.

"Because I am the Keeper of Time and Space, my memories cannot be altered like yours and the other sailor scouts. When I was transformed alongside everybody else on Earth, I pretended to not know," she explained.

"But why? Why hide that you remember who you are?" Twilight asked.

"Because I was tired of being lonely!" Rarity said. She turned back to face Twilight, tears falling down her face, "In this life, I don't have to be lonely. I have friends and family here. There's no need for me to stand alone at the Gates of Time anymore."

"But the princesses know who you are," Twilight said, "They've told me to awaken you and the others."

Rarity sighed. "I know they know who I am. How could they not? They're the ones who transformed us two thousand years ago. Sometimes I feel so selfish for hiding who I am. Perhaps I could have helped Princess Luna when she turned into Nightmare Moon. Maybe she wouldn't have lost her way then..."

"Two thousand years? But I'm only a few years old. How could I have been created a few thousand years ago?" Twilight asked.

"The princesses recycle the scouts' souls when their shells 'die'. While you have only been Twilight Sparkle for a few years, Amy's soul has been around since Equestria was first made. There have been many times when I thought the sailor scouts would be awakened again—Discord, Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, to mention some—but they never were. Whenever serious conflict arose, I would be waiting for the day when Celestia or Luna—or one of you—came to my door and told me it was time to wake up and take action. But it never came. There must be something serious coming if you're all awakening now," Rarity said.

Twilight took in a big breath and exhaled loudly. This hadn't gone at all how she expected. Rarity knew this whole time? This whole time she had known she used to be a human, that she had fought centuries upon centuries ago. She pretended this whole time to be somepony else.

"Please do not think of me as a different pony, Twilight," Rarity said, as though she could read Twilight's thoughts, "I am still the same Rarity that you know and befriended. Being Rarity—and the ponies I was beforehand—has given me the time to do things that I could never do as Sailor Pluto. But... but now it's time for me to fully wake up and become serious again. If Equestria's in danger and needs the sailor scouts, then it's time to take on that responsibility again. I can no longer hide who I really am."

Twilight stared at her, slightly shocked by her sudden turn around into serious mode. Rarity gave an awkward smile back and cleared her throat.

"So, um... What did the princesses tell you exactly?" Rarity asked.

Twilight recounted what the princesses had told her. Rarity nodded and began to pace as she listened to Twilight's story.

"Yes; I never was one hundred percent sure which princess was which, but I had guessed right. There have been so many days and nights when I have longed to reach out and talk to Small Lady... but I never did," Rarity said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, maybe once this is all over you and her can catch up?" Twilight said.

"Maybe," Rarity said quietly.

"So, who do you think we should approach next then?" Twilight asked. "I don't have my full memories back—they're more like flashes and visions of what happened in the past, images that I watch, but don't fully remember—so I'm not sure who would be the best to approach next."

"Well, as the princesses told you, we absolutely cannot talk to Fluttershy about this, nor can we talk about this in front of her. If she starts to get her memories back as Sailor Saturn, destruction and chaos will reign free again," Rarity said. "She was accidentally freed once before in Equestria times."

"Oh? When was that?" Twilight asked.

"When Discord reigned over Equestria. The princesses hadn't quite figured out everything in their new Earth, and a mysterious new creature named Discord appeared. He wasn't from the Negaverse or Black Moon, or any of the older foes that we have fought before—he was new and somehow came along in the creation of Equestria. He learned of the princesses true identities and learned of Sailor Saturn. He awoke her and while he created chaos, she created destruction," Rarity explained. "I was worried that when Discord returned, the same would happen. I'm sure the princesses were just as worried—but it seems with Fluttershy being one of the Element bearers, the magic of her Element of Kindness keeps Saturn at bay."

"Interesting," Twilight said. "Why do you think the princesses want us to awken everyone—except Fluttershy—to battle whatever they expect to attack the Crystal Empire, if we are going to just use the Elements anyways? Isn't it just easier to use the Elements as ponies, like nothing has changed, than to awaken everyone and confuse them?"

"I am not full of all of the answers, Twilight," Rarity said with a smile, "I am sure the princesses have their reasons. My guess would be it's because whatever is coming is from our past lives, a force that perhaps we have fought before, and therefore we may need the help of our memories in order to defeat it."

Twilight nodded. It was a feasible hypothesis.

"As for your question as to who she would wake up next though," Rarity said, as she put away their empty cups of tea and tidied the table, "I would say that we should wake up Venus next. She was the captain of you four inner scouts, who were directly responsible for the Moon Princess's safety."

Twilight sighed. She nodded in agreement. While Rarity's words were true—Twilight had seen visions of Venus with a sword, and seen her giving orders, and had figured herself that she might be the next best bet to awaken—Twilight wasn't too keen on finding a way to talk sense into Venus's pony form. She could see it being a challenge.

"Alright then," Twilight said with another sight, "Let's go find Pinkie Pie."

Chapter 3: A Scout in Denial

Chapter 3

A Scout in Denial

"So, wait a second," Twilight said, as she and Rarity made their way to Sugarcube Corner, "Princess Celestia said that as Queen Serenity, she gave up the last of her power when she sent all of us into the 20th century. How is she still alive?"

"Oh, she did not explain that to you?" Rarity asked. Twilight shook her head. "Interesting. I wonder why she would withhold information."

"I'm sure it's something that she just didn't think needed explaining; they all seemed pretty keen on waking everybody up so we could meet up with Cadance in the Crystal Empire," Twilight said. "Do you know the story though?"

"Yes," Rarity said, "Let me explain.

"As you told me the princesses explained to you, that during the original fight in the Silver Milennium, Queen Serenity used up the last of her power with the Silver Imperial Crystal in order to give you all new lives in the 20th century. It was around this time that I was given the full responsibility of guarding the Gates of Time on full duty. With the solar system cautiously in peace, there was no need for me to guard the outer edges, and I could devote my life to guarding the Gates of Time.

"I remained at my station for the first major battle in which you were all awakened for. It wasn't until Small Lady passed through the door that I became involved, because as a result of her crossing, the conflict of the 30th century became a problem of the 20th century. As the Keeper of Time and Space, it was my duty to make sure time travel did not happen, under any circumstances—but this was different. Small Lady said that the Silver Imperial Crystal was gone, and we needed it to defeat the enemies and reawaken Queen Neo-Serenity. So I sent her back in time to find the crystal of the 20th century.

"Anyways, as battles raged upon Earth, I found myself leaving my post more and more often. The enemies kept becoming stronger and stronger, and Princess Serenity and her four main scouts were no longer strong enough on their own. They needed the full force of all of the scouts of our system to defeat enemies. But during our last battle with King Sombra, things were taking a turn for the worse, a time so terrible like none other.

"Chaos struck halfway through the second millennium kingdom, the Crystal Millennium, as I call it. Queen Neo-Serenity was preparing Small Lady—by now taking the formal name of Princess Neo-Serenity—to take over the kingdom. King Sombra was a wizard banished to the outskirts of our solar system. He attacked, much like Queen Beryl did, out of jealousy. He lusted after Small Lady, but when she rejected him, he then attacked our kingdom with forces like none I have ever seen. For the first time, the scouts' efforts were failing and we were all going to lose our kingdom and die.

"Some did. In the thick of battle, Sailor Uranus fell. Neptune fell soon after. There is some tension between the princesses, for one believes that Neptune fell on purpose, because she could not face life without her dearest friend and companion, Uranus. The other believes that it was an accident."

"What do you believe?" Twilight asked, interrupting. Rarity remained quiet for a minute, staring at the ground as she walked.

"I don't know what to believe," was all she said quietly. Twilight waited a few minutes before Rarity continued on with her story.

"It wasn't until King Endymion fell that Queen Serenity revealed herself to be alive. She explained that she had been on the sun for the past thousands of years—a trait which has now followed her into this life, as she is the princess of the sun—and that as her soul serenely rested in the hot star, it could no longer stay at peace upon seeing the destruction that was happening. She manifested on Earth and together with her kin, they sealed King Sombra away, but not before he took Crystal Tokyo with him.

"I don't know the full understandings of the Queen or how she got to the sun, nor do I know how her soul survived. There is much mystery around those who used to be moonfolk," Rarity said.

"Moonfolk? Crystal Tokyo? That was an interesting story, though I'm not sure I understood all of it."

Twilight jumped slightly, as Pinkie Pie popped out of a nearby shrub. Rarity looked startled as well. She then quickly glanced around her and then nodded at Twilight.

"Yes, I was just telling Twilight a dream I had," Rarity said. "Have you had any odd dreams lately Pinkie Pie?"

"Nope! Just the regular ones. They're usually about sweets and treats," Pinkie said. She did an optimistic hop and smiled at the two unicorns.

"Really? 'Cause I had a dream related to Rarity's story," Twilight said, "and you were in it Pinkie Pie."

"I was in a dream that uses the term moonfolk? Ha ha ha! Moonfolk! What a funny word. Does it relate to Nightmare Moon!?" Pinkie Pie asked, hopping again slightly.

Rarity looked around again, as though checking to see if other ponies were watching them. She then looked at Twilight again and nodded her head in gesture towards the alley to their right. Twilight nodded. As Rarity spoke again, the two began to corral Pinkie Pie towards the alley.

"Yes, you were in my dream too, Minako," Rarity said, her tone suddenly sharp and serious.

Pinkie Pie twitched for a second. The smile fell from her face and her hair seemed to de-poof for a minute. Her eyes glazed over and her voice went monotone.

"Call me Mina for short," she said.

Just as fast as she had changed, she changed back. Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side.

"Who's Mina?" she asked.

Twilight glanced at Rarity. She wasn't sure what to do or what had just happened to Pinkie Pie.

"You are, Pinkie Pie. Don't you remember?" Twilight asked. When Rarity had mentioned her name, many flashes of Pinkie in her human form flew through her mind. Twilight was amazed at how much faster she began to remember the more she talked to the other scouts.

"Ohhhh, I see what you're doing there Twilight. You're giving me a new nickname! PinkaMINA! I get it. Mina Pie. I guess it could work, but Pinkie sort of makes more sense because of my coat and mane, don't you think?" Pinkie said. She laughed.

I hadn't even thought of that. Mina's in her full name. Well played princesses, well played.

"Minako Aino," Rarity said.

"Gesundheit?" Pinkie Pie said. She gave Rarity a perplexed look.

"Your name was once Minako Aino. You preferred Mina, for short. You were the Princess of Venus, Planet of Love, leader of the four guardians of Princess Serenity. You were the keeper of the Sword of the Crystal, the holy blade. You destroyed the blade after Princess Serenity used it to take her life," Rarity said, as she took a step towards Pinkie. Pinkie Pie took a step back, her confused look deepening into concern and almost fright. She laughed uneasily.

"That's a pretty big accusation, Rarity. Really guys, what's the joke? I don't get it and it's not funny," Pinkie Pie said. She kept glancing towards Twilight for help, as Rarity continued to advance on her.

"It's not a joke, Pinkie Pie," Rarity said, "And you should be taking this very seriously."

"Ok, let's tone it down for a second Rarity. I'm still having some troubles coming to terms with it," Twilight said. She stepped between Rarity and Pinkie Pie. "We need to take it slow."

"Time to wake up Mina," Rarity said. "There's no time to take things slow. I know a thing or two about time, Twilight Sparkle, and while I understand your point of view, you have to realize that we still have two more scouts to awaken. King Sombra could be taking over the Crystal Empire as we speak. And after that, he may even try and take over Canterlot."

"The princesses will make sure that doesn't happen," Twilight said, "Just because we wield the Elements of Harmony, doesn't mean that they don't have any power. Cadance is putting up a barrier around the Crystal Empire and—"

"She's the one I'm worried about," Rarity snapped, "King Sombra was once obsessed with her. He hasn't seen her in thousands of years. Pony forms or not, obsession is still obsession. If you could remember the time when Prince Diamond was obsessed with Serenity, you would understand my concern."

"You're still concerned about Small Lady," Twilight said.

"I'm always concerned for Small Lady," Rarity said quietly.

"Who's a small lady?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Pinkie Pie, listen to me. There's something you need to understand. Our souls are eternal. They've been living and regenerating for thousands of years. We were once all warriors, and protected our solar system. It's time for us to protect it again," Rarity said softly.

Pinkie Pie twitched again, but didn't say anything.

"I'm Sailor Mercury, Pinkie," Twilight said, "And Rarity is Sailor Pluto. You're Sailor Venus."

"I don't understand," Pinkie Pie said, her voice filled with concern. She twitched again. Her bright color seemed to be fading and her hair seemed to be straightening. "What are you saying?"

"We're saying it's time to wake up," Rarity said. Pinkie Pie shook her head and backed into the wall behind her. "It's time to be serious."

"I—But—" Pinkie said. Her coat was now a drab shade of pink, her hair completely straight. Tears seemed to brim her eyes. Her voice cracked. "I don't want to be serious."

Before either of the two unicorns could do anything, Pinkie Pie pushed past them and ran out of the alley.

"Pinkie Pie! Wait!" Twilight shouted. Rarity sighed.

"So many times, she has always been the first to wake up. Never have I seen her in denial," Rarity said quietly.

"What should we do?" Twilight asked, "Do you think she even fully remembers?"

"I'm not sure," Rarity said, "but we should leave her be for the moment. When the time is right, she will be ready, and she will find us."

This had not gone at all like Twilight had planned. She had been spoiled with going to Rarity first and having such an easy time in "awakening" her, since she hadn't needed any awakening to begin with. She had hoped that since Pinkie Pie had once been her leader, that she would have been the next easiest.

"What do we do now?" Twilight asked.

"Now, we need someone who is a born warrior. Someone with a bit more edge, who won't argue against being a fighter," Rarity asked, "Someone who can better enforce the idea upon the reluctant. We need Mars."

"Rainbow Dash."

Chapter 4: A Born Warrior

Chapter 4

A Born Warrior

"I still can't believe that went like that," Twilight said. "I really didn't expect Pinkie to act that way."

Rarity remained quiet for a minute. She then turned to Twilight with a thoughtful look on her face. The two of them were sitting outside a cafe, sipping on lemonade underneath an umbrella. The sun was shining brightly, and the two were watching Rainbow Dash from afar. Rainbow Dash was lounging on a nearby cloud, her eyes closed.

"Sometimes, I like to think that when we regenerate, our 'aliases' or 'every day identities' take on our strongest personality traits, or traits that we wished in our previous lives were more prevalent. It isn't until we re-awaken that that our other stronger suits come back as well," Rarity said.

"I'm not so sure I understand," Twilight said. She cocked her head to the side, giving Rarity a puzzled look. Rarity took a long sip of her lemonade, her eyes fixed on Rainbow Dash. She turned back to Twilight.

"For example, Mina—or Pinkie Pie, has always been an optimistic soul. In her original life, she was optimistic and kind, but she was also headstrong, and a born leader. She could be cold at times, but everything she did, she did with the princess in mind. Protecting the princess was her number one directive," Rarity explained. She took another sip of her drink. "In her 21th century life, her optimism came out more, and also turned into overt happiness and excitement. Both she, and Princess Serenity, had a goofy-side of them during this life. Pinkie Pie was more carefree; but she was also the first to be reawakened. And when she took on the form of Sailor Venus, that leader strength always reigned true and strong. But in her everyday life, she was more carefree than her days of a Princess of Venus. Her optimism became slightly magnified."

"And now, it's super magnified?" Twilight asked. Rarity laughed.

"Yes, exactly. I've only ever seen Pinkie Pie seriously angry or upset maybe three times in the whole time I've known her. And in other pony forms I've seen her in, she's always been extremely optimistic and friendly. Because of this, I believe her other strength—her sailor solider strengths, if you will—are buried deeper inside her. While Venus has always been a natural leader, it's a heavy burden, and one that I believe sometimes takes a toll on her. Much like guarding the Gates of Time and Space has taken a toll on me. Her wish to be more carefree has been magnified in her everyday forms, and it's making it harder to re-awaken her and get serious again," Rarity explained.

"Why do you think it magnifies?" Twilight asked. Rarity took another long sip of her drink, taking the time to think.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure," she said finally, "but my guess would be it's because our lives keep getting interrupted. Princess Luna was supposed to take over rule of the Millennium Kingdom thousands of years ago. Because of terrible circumstances, that never took place. And because her mother wanted to give her another chance, she sent her into the future in hopes that she could live a full, normal life. But because since terrible things keep happening, we have to keep re-generating, re-awakening and re-living our lives, because we have never been given the opportunity to fully live out the lives we were originally meant to.

"Because of this, I believe our souls no longer wish to fight. Therefore, each time they are reborn, they bury the memories of who they really are deep within, and create new identities with other dominant traits that don't necessarily have to do with our lives as soldiers. In this example, Pinkie's soul wishes to live carefree, without the responsibility of being a leader. So her carefree spirit is the most inherent and strongest trait she has in this life."

"But it wasn't that hard to me to except," Twilight said, "and you've been awake this whole time. How does that work?"

"Everyone is different," Rarity explained. "You've always been gifted with smarts. It is your biggest tool on the battle field, but it's also a trait that you've admired in all aspects of your life. You've always been smart, whether you be a person or pony. I'd say that because you desire knowledge so much, knowing of your past lives is something you'd wish to learn about, and therefore, your soul does not shun the thought of being re-awakened and remembering the past.

"As for myself... I am slightly different. I am older than the rest of you. My time as an everyday human was brief. My time here, as a pony, has really been the first time I've ever had to explore and create new identities for myself. I've already told you that my life has been terribly lonely for the most part. Naturally, I'd create an identity of a social pony."

"What about the others?" Twilight asked.

"Hmmm... Well, Mars has always been a very loyal scout. She's always been headstrong and one for the cause of fighting evil. Even though at times she and the princess had their differences, she has always remained loyal to her and never questioned her authority. She's straight forward and brash, traits which can obviously be seen in Rainbow Dash," Rarity said.

"What about Applejack?"

"Jupiter has also always been a loyal scout. That's not to say that there isn't any scout who isn't loyal; these two just show it more upfront. Jupiter is softer though, more empathetic than Mars. This has come through as Applejack's Element for honesty," Rarity said. She finished her lemonade. "I really don't see any big problems with either of those two."

"You knew there'd be a problem with Pinkie? And you didn't tell me?" Twilight asked. Rarity smiled at her sheepishly.

"I wasn't one hundred percent certain. I figured it could go either way. She could have either awoken no problem like before, or she would have been in denial," Rarity said.

"A heads up still would have been nice," Twilight said.

"No use quarreling over it now. Venus has been reawakened. This I can assure you. It will just take her time to come around," Rarity said. She stood from the table. "Let's go talk to Rainbow Dash."

Twilight sighed. She stood as well and followed Rarity. They walked in silence as they approached the cloud Rainbow Dash was on. Rarity cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, Rainbow Dash, darling, can you come down here? Twilight and I have something to discuss with you," Rarity called.

Rainbow Dash poked her head over the cloud. She rubbed her eyes, obviously waking from a nap.

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Can you come down?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. She stretched and then hovered down towards the ground. She landed softly in front of the unicorns.

"What's up?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. She looked from Rarity to Twilight.

Twilight opened her mouth and closed it. What was she supposed to say?

"Rainbow Dash, what were you to say, if I were to tell you that you are a born warrior?" Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash scoffed.

"I'd say well, duh, obviously," she replied. Rarity turned towards Twilight and gave her a look.

"Rainbow Dash, what do you know about the planet Mars?" Twilight asked slowly.

"Mars?" Rainbow Dash said. She tilted her head further to the side, thinking. "It's a red planet. Lots of ponies call it a sister planet to ours, though really, it's only about half the size of Earth. It produces seasons, though without the aid of pegasi. Some ponies like to believe that there might be life on Mars, but I think whatever life used to be there, is long gone."

Twilight's mouth fell open. Did that really just come out of Rainbow Dash's mouth? She looked over Rarity, who looked slightly less perplexed, but perplexed nonetheless. Rainbow Dash looked from one unicorn to the other.

"What!? Didn't think I could be an egghead like you, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I... I just didn't realize you knew so much about the planets," Twilight said finally. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"I wouldn't say I know a lot about all of the planets. I don't know why, but Mars has always sort of struck a chord with me... it's just something that I've always found interesting. I can't explain it," she said.

"Do you... ever dream about Mars?" Twilight asked. Maybe this was going to be easier than she thought. Maybe her bad luck ended with Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash shifted slightly, a frowny look appearing on her face.

"That's a weird question to ask, Twilight," she said quietly. She hesitated before she continued. "But yes, I have. Not so much about the planet, but about me being called Mars. Except I'm not myself."

Rarity gave Twilight another look. She took a step towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked uneasily at the white unicorn.

"What if I were to say that those dreams are memories?" Rarity asked softly. Rainbow Dash looked from Rarity to Twilight, a bewildered look on her face. Twilight just nodded slowly.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Our souls are eternal," Twilight said slowly, "and it's time for our true identities to wake up again. You are Sailor Mars, a warrior from a long time ago. You were once princess on the planet, but that time has passed. It's time for you to wake up again, remember the past, and be prepared to fight again."

Rainbow Dash opened and closed her mouth. She kept looking between the unicorns for some sort of sign that this was a gag. Twilight just stared at her point blank.

"I am Sailor Pluto," Rarity said, "keeper of the Gate of Time and Space."

"Pluto isn't a planet," Rainbow Dash said. Rarity frowned and rolled her eyes.

"In my time it was, and in my heart, it always will be," Rarity said hotly. Rainbow Dash laughed.

"And who are you then Twilight? Sailor Earth?" Rainbow Dash asked, still laughing. Twilight looked at her seriously.

"The King of Earth, who was essentially Sailor Earth, perished in the last battle. I am Sailor Mercury," Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash's expression changed. She suddenly looked very serious. She took a step closer to her friends.

"Do you remember, Rainbow Dash? Rae?" Rarity whispered. Rainbow Dash glanced towards her and then slowly nodded.

"I think I'm starting to. Who... where are the others?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I don't remember all their names, but I see flashes of these beings. These beings that we used to be. It still seems like a dream."

"Those beings are called humans. And it won't seem like a dream forever," Rarity said, "Slowly, you will remember everything."

"Applejack is Sailor Jupiter, and Fluttershy is Sailor Saturn," Twilight explained.

"We cannot awaken Saturn," Rarity said coldly. Twilight sighed.

"I know," she said. She then turned back to Rainbow Dash. "Pinkie Pie is Sailor Venus. Sailor Uranus and Neptune were lost in the last battle, as was King Endymion. Princess Celestia is Queen Serenity; Princess Luna is Queen Neo-Serenity, our princess; and Cadance is her daughter, Small Lady."

Rainbow Dash put her hoof to her head.

"So many names to remember," she said.

"Don't worry, it will come back faster than you think," Twilight said. "I myself was only told this morning."

"Do any of the others know?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We just spoke to Pinkie Pie—she didn't take it well," Twilight said. She sighed.

"And you're going to go tell Applejack next?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight nodded.

"Ok, I'm coming with you," Rainbow Dash said. "Start from the beginning and tell me everything. I want to remember."

Chapter 5: The Elements of Harmony

Chapter 5

The Elements of Harmony

"So, because our other main trait is magnified in our everyday lives, and gets stronger and stronger as we're reborn, that's why Fluttershy is so shy and incredibly kind—and essentially the exact opposite of a killing machine?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes," Rarity said, "that's why it came so much as a shock to you when I told you it is she that is Saturn."

"Hotaru was always very kind and sweet though, from what I remember," Twilight said.

"Yes, she was. She was also one of Small Lady's closest friends," Rarity said. "Although I may have neglected my duties as a senshi in my pony form, I have always made sure to be close acquaintances with whichever pony form Saturn was in."

The three friends were on their way to Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity had done her best answering Rainbow Dash's questions about the sailor soldiers and their past lives.

"After she had used her powers a few times, the other outer senshi and I felt the need to adopt her and take her under our wing. Saturn is the only sailor solider who is reborn after using her powers, and is the only one who can use her powers while not in senshi form," Rarity explained.

"So I guess another pro to not awakening her, is then Fluttershy wouldn't be reborn again," Twilight said, "and we wouldn't lose her as a friend."

"Or an Element," Rarity said. "I'm not quite sure what would happen to the Elements of Harmony, should Saturn be reawakened."

"There's a lot I still don't remember. This is all so weird, having all of these flashbacks suddenly. I thought they were just the odd dream now and then," Rainbow Dash said.

"I started having them quite frequently," Twilight said, "and don't worry; I still don't remember a lot either. But it's starting to come back quicker and quicker."

"I think part of the reason you weren't having as frequent dreams as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, is that you've lost touch with the part of your everyday life that was a priestess. In many of your past civilian forms, you've been a priestess; but that is a trait that did not carry over into your pony form, what so ever," Rarity said, with a bit of a laugh.

"Yeah, I've seen flashbacks of you in a special attire, Rainbow," Twilight said. She then started to laugh, "But the thought of you as a priestess is one that I can't take too seriously."

"Me neither," Rainbow Dash said, joining in with the laughter.

"In a sense, it's almost as though our main traits, aside from our senshi powers, have become the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said slowly.

"What do you mean Twilight?" Rarity asked.

Twilight was surprised Rarity hadn't thought of it on her own. She couldn't help but feel a little pride in being the first to discover something related to their senshi and reborn lives before Rarity did.

"Well, think about it," Twilight said, "The Elements of Harmony are Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter, Honesty, Magic and Generosity. Fluttershy's eternal soul has always been kind. Even though she is the soldier of Ruin and Rebirth, her other strongest quality is kindness.

"Rainbow Dash, you've always been loyal to the princess, and to the cause. And here, in Ponyville, you've always had a no-nonsense type of personality when it comes to the princesses' honor and when it comes to protecting Equestria. Your loyalty has been magnified into one of the strongest powers to protect Equestria.

"Rarity, I know you said that in all of your reborn pony lives, you've tried to have very social lives, because of your past loneliness. But that's not the trait of you that's been magnified. It's generosity. Think about it; in your past, you were generous to give up all of your time, your friends, family, whatever, to stand alone and protect the Gates of Time and Space. And now, although you are no longer lonely, that generosity is still a big part of who you are. Although at times you can be frivolous and a bit demanding—which was all an act of your pony identity, I can see that now—you're one of the most generous ponies I know.

"It's the same with me. Yes, smarts is my trait, but in this pony world, it's been translated as magic. Magic is a very high level of intelligence. Pinkie Pie's trait of optimism has been translated into the Element of Laughter. You said so yourself Rarity, that in her other everyday past lives, Pinkie's optimism turned into happiness and silliness."

"And Lita has always been honest. Her loyalty was translated into the Element of Honesty, because whereas Rae was brashly loyal, Lita tried to keep peace in the group as well," Rarity said quietly.

"Lita?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Applejack," Twilight explained, "Sailor Jupiter."

"Jupa-what now?"

Twilight turned to see Applejack standing to her left, a cart of apples harnessed to her. Twilight hadn't realized they had reached the farm. Big Mac gave Twilight a perplexed look, one that mirrored the one on Applejack's face.

"Twilight was just telling us stuff about the planets," Rainbow Dash said. She landed on the ground beside Twilight, "Right Twi?"

"Right," Twilight said, "Anyways, Applejack, do you think we could talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," Applejack said. Big Mac unharnessed the apple cart. "I'll be back to put those apples away."

Rarity led the group into the barn. She closed the doors behind them. The three ponies stared at Applejack, who was starting to look a little flustered.

"Y'all want to tell me what's going on?"

"Have you been having any strange dreams lately... Lita?" Rainbow Dash asked. She stepped forward and stared at Applejack, an inch from her face. Applejack frowned.

"No need to go all middle-name on me," Applejack said, "And I've been sleepin' just fine, if that's what you're askin'."

"Middle name?" Twilight asked.

"My middle name is Lita," Applejack said, "Though I'm not sure who told y'all. Was it Apple Bloom?"

"It was just a guess actually," Rainbow Dash said.

"A guess? How in the hay can you guess somepony's middle name?" Applejack asked.

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other. They then exchanged a look with Rainbow Dash.

"Applejack, we have something we need to talk to you about."

"So what you're trying to tell me, is that I'm some sorta warrior, who's been livin' and relivin' for the past thousands of years? And now I need to fight again?" Applejack asked.

"Yes," Twilight said.

"And that y'all are these eternal warriors too?" Applejack asked.

"Yes," Twilight said, as Rarity nodded vigorously.

Applejack glanced over at Rainbow Dash, as though whether to determine or not if the whole thing was a joke. Rainbow Dash just stared back at her with a serious look.

"I'm just as confused about this as you are," Rainbow Dash said finally, "but it's no joke."

"I know it's a lot to take in, Applejack; I just learned everything myself a few hours ago," Twilight said.

"So wait, then who are y'all again?" Applejack asked, as she scratched her head.

"I am Sailor Mercury, Rainbow Dash is Sailor Mars, and Rarity is Sailor Pluto," Twilight said.

"And y'all were just told earlier this mornin' about it too?"

"Well, not exactly..." Twilight said. She glanced over at Rarity.

Rarity sighed. "I've known the whole time. One of my past directives was to guard the Gates of Time and Space. Because of this, I've always known who I truly am."

"Well that's not really fair," Rainbow Dash said with a huff.

"As an outer senshi, my task during the Silver Millennium was to guard the moon from external attacks. As you three were part of the inner senshi, your task was to guard the princess herself," Rarity explained. "Eventually, I also took on the role of Keeper of Time."

"Who are the other outer senshi?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Saturn is Fluttershy, and as you know, she cannot be awoken," Rarity said.

"Why not?" Applejack asked.

"Sailor Saturn is the Sailor of Ruin and Rebirth. If she is unleashed, everything will be destroyed," Rarity said, "We cannot speak of this in front of Fluttershy."

"But she's one of the Elements of Harmony. How are we supposed to defeat this King Sombra without having Fluttershy around?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Fluttershy will be coming with us to the Crystal Empire. We're going to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat King Sombra; it's only if they fail that the princesses want us to use our senshi powers," Rarity explained.

"I thought you knew nothing of the princesses' plans?" Twilight asked, a slight edge in her voice. Rarity turned to her, her hooves up in defense.

"It's just a speculation, I just thought of it now," Rarity said in defense.

"Who are Uranus and Neptune? One of 'em Pinkie Pie?" Applejack asked, "I'm startin' to get the feel that whoever's one of these 'Sailor Soldiers' is related to an Element."

"Uranus and Neptune are dead. They did not survive our last battle as Sailor Soliders," Rarity said.

"Pinkie Pie is Sailor Venus. She was our captain in protecting Princess Serenity," Twilight explained.

"So we have to go tell Pinkie next?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight and Rarity shook their heads.

"We've already told her," Twilight said. She sighed. "She didn't take it well."

"Venus has always been the first to be awoken. Her soul is tired of fighting, and now it is in denial," Rarity explained.

"What about Sailor Moon?" Rainbow Dash. She said the name uncertainly, as though she wasn't sure she remembered it correctly.

"Sailor Moon, or Princess Serenity, or, Neo-Queen Serenity—however you remember her—is Princess Luna," Rarity said.

"Is she coming to the Crystal Empire too? Is she going to fight alongside us?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No. She and Princess Celestia are staying in Canterlot. They no longer wield the Elements of Harmony, so it is up to us," Twilight said.

"Who's Princess Celestia?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Queen Serenity. She is, technically, Luna's mother. In this world, they created their identities so that they are sisters. Princess Cadance is Small Lady, or Neo-Princess Serenity—Luna's daughter," Rarity explained.

"Sailor Mini-Moon?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes," Twilight said.

"Why don't the princesses just use the Silver Imperial Crystal to defeat King Sombra?" Rainbow Dash asked, again hesitating on the name 'Silver Imperial Crystal'.

"The princesses decided to break the crystal up, back into its original seven crystal form—like it was in the 21st century," Rarity explained, "And now those crystals have turned into the power of the Elements of Harmony."

"But there are only six Elements," Applejack said.

"Cadance mentioned something about there being a seventh Element," Twilight said. She began to pace. "She said it could be activated on its own."

"You think Cadance is the one who has the seventh Element then?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm not sure," Twilight said. She stopped and turned to Rarity. "Do you know anything about the seventh Element?"

"No, I honestly don't," Rarity said, "When we were first introduced to the Elements of Harmony, I had a feeling that they were part of the seven 'Rainbow Crystals', as you had called them in the 20th century. But then I was surprised that there were only six, and that the Elements worked with six. Since I did not want to blow my cover of knowing who I really was, I never questioned the princesses about them."

"The more I think about it, the more it seems like the princesses broke up the Silver Imperial Crystal so that we would be the ones to use its power. It can't just be a huge coincidence that the Elements of Harmony are the traits that are strongest within us," Twilight said.

"Why wouldn't the princesses want the power of the crystal anymore?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with Princess Luna turning into Nightmare Moon," Twilight said, "It was with defeating her that we first used the Elements. The more I think about it, the more I feel like the princesses left a lot of things unanswered and unexplained. And almost as though they did it on purpose."

"Why wouldn't just Celestia and Cadance use the crystal then, to turn Nightmare Moon back? Anyone of the descendants of the Moon Kingdom can use the crystal," Rarity said.

"Or maybe..." said a small voice behind them, "Maybe they were tired of fighting. Just like me."

Chapter 6: Back to Canterlot

Chapter 6

Back to Canterlot

Pinkie Pie walked into the barn, her mane dead straight and her head hung. She still looked faded in color like she had earlier.

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack said. She pulled the pony into a hug. "You don't look yourself, girl."

Pinkie Pie didn't say anything. She just sighed and hung her head further.

"You think the princesses are tired of fighting? And that's why they've handed over the responsibility to us?" Twilight asked.

"That's ridiculous," Rarity said immediately, "The princesses have been guarding the universe for about as long as I have. They know, as descendants of the moon, that it's their duty."

"Then why would they only be sending Princess Cadance to the Crystal Empire? Why aren't Celestia and Luna going too?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Crystal Empire? Why exactly are we being woken up?" Pinkie asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"So you do remember," Rarity said.

"Of course I remember. I'm always the fastest to remember," Pinkie muttered under her breath.

"The Crystal Empire, Pinkie, is Crystal Tokyo. It's returned," Rarity said softly. Pinkie's mouth formed a small o.

"And is he back as well then?" she asked.

"King Sombra? Yes. That's why the princesses have asked that we all wake up," Twilight said.

"Who are the princesses? Who are all of you?" Pinkie asked, "It's harder to recognize you all in these pony forms."

"I'm Mars, Twilight's Mercury, Rarity's Pluto, Applejack is Jupiter, and Fluttershy is Saturn. Celestia is the Queen, Luna is the princess, and Cadance is Small Lady," Rainbow Dash said in one breath. She then turned and rounded on Rarity, "You didn't answer my question. If you're so sure that the princesses wouldn't abandon their duty, then why are they only sending Cadance to the Crystal Empire?"

"They're just sending Cadance? If she's Small Lady, then she's in grave danger there. King Sombra was obsessed with her," Pinkie said.

"Stop interrupting! Let Rarity answer!" Rainbow Dash said.

Rarity sighed, "The most likely answer as to why they're only sending Cadance is because technically she'd now be the ruler of Crystal Tokyo. Neo-Queen Serenity's reign would be over by now, and her daughter would have taken over, with Helios at her side. Since it is her kingdom then, it is she who must defend it."

"But Luna had help from Celestia and Cadance when it started to fall to King Sombra," Twilight said.

"The circumstances were different. The Sailor Scouts were failing, and the king attacking the kingdom wanted to essentially kidnap her daughter. Of course Cadance would fight for herself, and Luna would fight for her kingdom, and her daughter. And when Celestia saw that the kingdom was going to fall, after Uranus, Neptune and King Endymion fell, she couldn't just stand by idly and let it happen," Rarity said.

"You sure know an awful lot, Rarity," Applejack said.

"That's because I've been awake the whole time," Rarity said, a slight edge in her voice. Twilight felt slightly sorry for her. They did seem to be ganging up on her at the moment.

"Sounds to me like Celestia is tired of fighting, since you said she was technically dead when the last battle happened. To come back from the dead is... well, wouldn't it be sort of exhausting? And if the kingdom has moved into Cadance's hands, it sounds like Luna is tired as well. Especially if her king has died," Rainbow Dash said.

"If Celestia was so tired, she wouldn't have come fought. And if they were so tired now, she and Luna would have disappeared and left Cadance all by herself. We'd still be humans, and not ponies, and Equestria wouldn't exist. They wouldn't exhaust their powers changing the entire world's appearance, just to sit back and let it be taken over," Rarity said, "Whatever their reasoning is behind letting us control the powers of the Silver Imperial Crystal, I'm sure it must have something to do with them having other powers and other priorities. They'll probably be busy protecting the rest of Equestria, in case we fail in stopping King Sombra."

"Alright everypony, let's just take a deep breath," Twilight said, "And just take a minute to think and let this all settle in. It's a lot to remember."

"I take it we can't tell Fluttershy any of this," Pinkie Pie said, after a minute of silence. "If you say she's Sailor Saturn, I'm sure the princesses told you not to awaken her."

"Yes," Twilight said, "We can't wake her up."

"And we can't talk about any of this in front of her, should it trigger a memory," Rarity said.

"So what do we do from here?" Applejack asked.

"I think we need to go to Canterlot. I feel like the princesses are withholding a lot of information. I want all of the facts before I go barreling into the Crystal Empire fighting on their behalf," Rainbow Dash said.

"Doesn't sound like loyalty to me," Rarity said.

"Loyalty doesn't have to be blind," Rainbow Dash said.

"I agree with Rainbow. I want to talk to the princesses," Applejack said.

"I agree, we should go to Canterlot before going to the Crystal Empire. Let's meet at the train station in an hour and a half. I'll go tell Fluttershy that we're taking an impromptu girls trip to Canterlot," Twilight said.

"Alright then. It's a plan. See you all in an hour and a half," Rarity said.

Rarity left the barn. Pinkie Pie started to leave too, but then stopped once she saw the other three hang behind.

"Anyone else feel like Rarity's in an on more than she lets?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, totally. 'I just thought of it now'. What was that crap?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I think we need to keep an eye on her," Applejack said.

"Now, let's not go jumping to any conclusions. While I understand the vibe you guys are getting, Rarity said that she doesn't know anything of the princesses' plans, and that she hasn't been in contact with them. She said she's been hiding the fact that she's always known she was a Sailor Scout," Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue back, but Twilight cut her off.

"And until we find evidence otherwise," Twilight continued, "We shouldn't assume she's lying to us. Innocent until proven guilty. Rarity is utmost and firstly our friend. She always has been."

"And even if maybe she is holding back a little, she's still our friend in the end," Pinkie said quietly. Twilight turned and smiled at her.

"Exactly. So everyone, go pack your things, and we'll meet at the train station," Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash sighed. She sort of rolled her eyes, muttered something and then flew out of the barn. Twilight and Pinkie waved good-bye to Applejack and walked together into town.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Twilight," Pinkie said quietly. Twilight wasn't used to Pinkie speaking so quietly or seriously. She didn't like the way her mane was completely straight or how her color had faded. She was a completely different pony.

"It's ok, Pinkie," Twilight said softly.

"I've just..." Pinkie sighed, "I've always been the first to wake up. The first to remember the past, and then to worry about the future. My soul is just tired, I guess. And especially after Rarity mentioned the whole part about when Serenity had committed suicide... It was just too much pain to remember."

"It's ok, Pinkie," Twilight said softly, "It's in the past. It wasn't your fault. Nopony ever thought it was."

"I guess it was nobody back then..." Pinkie said. She laughed quietly to herself. For a second, her coat when brighter and her mane slightly wavy. "Can I come with you to get Fluttershy? I just... I just don't really feel like being alone right now."

"Of course you can, Pinkie," Twilight said with a smile.

Twilight knocked on Fluttershy's cottage door. Angel opened the door, a slight frown, as usual, on his bunny face.

"Hi Angel," Pinkie said, cheerfully. She had snapped back to her normal optimistic, bright self, so that nothing looked amiss when they went to get Fluttershy. Twilight could tell her cheer was forced though. "Is Fluttershy home?"

Angel stepped aside and let the ponies in. Fluttershy was in the kitchen, putting some dishes away.

"Oh, hi Pinkie, hi Twilight," she said, "What brings you two here?"

"Pinkie Pie just came up with a super idea," Twilight said.

"We're going to go on an impromptu girls trip to Canterlot! This afternoon!" Pinkie said. She jumped around the room. "Please please pleeaassse say you'll come too Fluttershy! Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash have all agreed to come too! We're meeting at the train station in about an hour and a half!"

"Oh my, that does sound like fun," Fluttershy said.

"It's going to be super duper fun! We're going to go shopping, go to some spas..." Pinkie said.

"Maybe we can visit the museum too!" Twilight said.

"Sure! Hey, I know! Everyone will get to pick one big fun thing for all of us to do together! That way, everyone gets to do something they really want to, and can share the experience with everypony else!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"That sounds like a lovely idea," Fluttershy said, "There is this tour in Canterlot where to get to see a whole bunch of exotic animals. I think that's something I'd like to do."

"That sounds like a great idea, Fluttershy!" Pinkie said.

"Excellent! So we can count on seeing you at the train station around 2 o'clock?" Twilight asked, glancing at the clock.

"You sure can," Fluttershy said with a smile.

"Great! We'll see you then Fluttershy!" Twilight said.

She and Pinkie Pie left the cottage. As soon as they were far enough away, Pinkie Pie's mane went flat again and her color faded, though not as drab as it had been before.

"That was pretty easy," she said.

"Yeah, it sure was," Twilight said, "Listen Pinkie, I'll meet you at the train station ok? I need to make sure I have time to pack my things—and make sure that Spike has enough time to pack his."

"Spike is coming?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes. I need him to distract Fluttershy while we talk to the princesses."

Chapter 7: Accusations and Explanations

Chapter 7

Accusations and Explanations

Twilight took a deep breath as they exited the train and stepped onto the platform of the Canterlot station. She found it hard she had just been in the city earlier this morning. That all of the information she had gathered and shared—and sort of forced—on most of her friends, she had just received that morning herself. Time flew by quickly when Equestria was in danger.

"Where are we staying, Twilight?" Rarity asked, "Somewhere top notch, I hope."

"Princess Celestia said we can stay at the palace," Twilight said. She began to lead the way.

Most of her friends were doing well, despite the onslaught of life-altering news. Rarity, who had of course known this whole time about her sailor soldier life, chatted with Fluttershy casually about some fashion show she "hoped to attend" during their "girls trip". Rainbow Dash hovered in the air above them. Spike, who was about oblivious as Fluttershy to the real nature of their trip—but who knew that something was amiss (Twilight hadn't gone into details with him yet)—chatted with Applejack. Applejack chatted back politely, but kept shooting slightly worried glances towards Pinkie Pie. The pink earth pony was having troubles keeping up her usual optimistic demeanor. Her hair was curly, but not with its usual bounce, and although she had a smile plastered on her face, she was uncharacteristically quiet.

They soon approached the palace and Twilight led them to her usual visiting quarters. The princess usually left them open to Twilight. Twilight had sent the princesses a quick letter, saying they wanted to stop by and talk to them one more time before heading over to the Crystal Empire.

"So, what are we going to do first?" Spike asked, as the ponies dumped their bags into the big room.

"Well, I want to make sure I get those fashion show tickets I was mentioning earlier," Rarity said.

"I wanted to go browse the Wonderbolts show times," Rainbow Dash said, "and see if there are any seats available."

"There's a tour of a fruit orchard that looked interetin'," Applejack piped up, "S'posed to be full of these exotic fruits, includin' thirty different kinds of apples. And you get to sample 'em all too!"

"I, uhm, wanted to go to this exotic animal tour, and..." Fluttershy said, quietly.

"Well, there seems to be a lot of different activities planned," Twilight said. She pretended to ponder for a second. "Why don't we all go our separate ways for the next bit, all decide on the activity we each want everypony else to experience, and we'll meet back here?"

"That sounds like a great idea, Twilight," Rarity said.

The ponies exited the room and began to disperse.

"Spike, why don't you go with Fluttershy?" Twilight said, as she closed the door behind her, "You like animals, don't you?"

"Yeah! It sounds like a really fun activity, I'd love to see what it's all about," Spike said, as he jumped onto Fluttershy's back, "That is, as long as you don't mind me coming along, Fluttershy?"

"Oh no, of course not, Spike," Fluttershy said, "Your company is always welcome."

"Have fun you two! We'll see you back here in about an hour or so?" Twilight said.

"Sure thing, Twilight!" Spike said.

Twilight walked with the two to the palace gates. As she feigned to the left, she turned her head to ensure that Fluttershy wasn't looking back. She then went back up through the gates and made her way into the palace.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were already waiting in front of the throne room doors. Applejack approached it, just as Twilight did.

"So far so good, eh?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I hate keepin' stuff from her," Applejack said, "Somethin' just not quite right about it."

"I know, I agree, I feel the same way," Twilight said, with a heavy sigh, "But what can we do except obey the princesses' wishes? There are still many things I don't remember about my past lives, let alone Saturn's. If I can't yet understand myself, how am I supposed to comprehend this danger that Saturn will bring if she's reawakened?"

"Better left to those who truly remember then," Pinkie said quietly.

"Speaking of those who truly remember... Where's Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked, as she looked to the left and then to the right.

"I'm sure she'll be here any minute," Twilight said, "Let's wait inside with the princesses for her."

Twilight turned towards the door, to find that it was slightly ajar. She gently knocked on it first and then proceeded to push it open.

Celestia, Luna, and a white unicorn were huddled together, whispering quietly. At the sound of the door opening, Rarity stepped back, creating an obvious gap between herself and the princesses. Twilight didn't need to turn to know that Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said, "I am so glad to see you again. And to see the rest of you as well."

"What were you doing here before us?" Rainbow Dash asked harshly in Rarity's direction, before Twilight could respond to the princess.

"I just got here, just a few seconds before you did," Rarity said.

"Oh did you, now? Just a few seconds?" Applejack asked, her voice just as suspicious sounding as Rainbow Dash's.

"Yes, a few seconds. I know a thing or two about time," Rarity said, darkly.

"Then what were you all talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The weather," Rarity said, her eyes narrowing.

"That's enough," Luna said. She stepped between the three ponies. She glared at Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"We want some answers, your Majesties," Pinkie said. She bowed slightly.

"We have some questions we would like answered, before we go to the Crystal Empire," Twilight said politely. She stepped forward, trying to keep the situation under control. She didn't need everypony ramming down everypony else's throats.

Luna turned her head back and looked at her sister. Celestia exchanged a glance with her, and Celestia finally sighed.

"Alright then," Celestia said quietly, "We will tell you everything that you need to know."

Twilight was surprised at the reluctance in Celestia's voice. By the way that her conversation had gone with them earlier in the morning, somehow she had gotten the feeling that it was Luna that was withholding the information, not the other way around. Now it looked like it was Celestia who didn't want to share.

"What would you like to know?" Luna asked. She stepped back and stood at her sister's side.

"Has Rarity been in contact with you three this whole time?" Rainbow Dash asked, before Twilight could ask it more eloquently or come up with a different question. Clearly Rainbow's sense of loyalty was being breeched upon, by the idea that Rarity had lied to them earlier.

"She has," Celestia answered calmly.

"For how long?" Twilight asked, feeling a little bit betrayed herself.

"Since the beginning of time," Celestia answered simply.

"So you lied about them not knowing who you were?" Twilight asked, facing Rarity now. Rarity held her gaze and nodded. There was no look of remorse or shame in her eyes.

"Do not blame her for lying to you," Luna said, "it was her job."

"Explain it please," Twilight asked.

"Pluto's job has always been to guard the Gates of Time and Space, save for dire emergencies, such as our last battle. As we sent in Saturn to do part of the destruction to end the battles, and the rest we did with our powers, we changed the way that our planet worked and cut it off from the Gates of Time and Space. We changed the dynamics, by adding magic into the mix, magic that didn't need to be wielded by crystals or objects. And since only a limited of beings could now disrupt the systems of space and time, Pluto no longer needed to solely guard the gate. We could sense if someone disturbed it ourselves, and fix it," Luna explained.

"So we gave her a new mission," Celestia said, "and it was to keep an eye on Saturn. Our new world was unstable. And when Luna became corrupt with Nightmare Moon, I feared more than ever that Saturn would be unleashed again—so soon after it had happened with Discord—that I made it her sole duty to befriend whichever shell Saturn was in and make sure she stayed asleep. We were tired of having to remake the world after her destruction. And her soul—though it remains asleep—grows weary and more unstable every time she is reborn."

"Before that, before Discord had set Saturn free again temporarily, I helped the princesses keep any other monsters at bay. Being the only sailor soldier still awake, and with the cosmos not in as terrible danger any more, we let the rest of you sleep, while I took up any slack the princesses couldn't bother with," Rarity said, "Once Saturn had been unleashed by Discord, and Nightmare Moon came into fruition after Saturn had been put back asleep, my new sole directive was to keep at her side and make sure she stayed dormant."

"So then what you said earlier, about us only using our sailor powers if the Elements fail, that was true—that's the real plan," Rainbow Dash said. Celestia shot Rarity a slightly disapproving look.

"That's correct," Luna said, unaffected by the shared knowledge, "And only if you fail in fighting along Cadance, is Saturn to be awakened."

"Ok, next question," Pinkie Pie said, "Why are you only sending Princess Cadance to the Crystal Empire? Why aren't you two coming as well?"

"Because it is her empire. It is her time to rule," Luna said, "Mine ended with the terrible destruction of the last war."

"Then why are you two ruling Equestria?" Twilight asked.

"Because Cadance has been busy searching for the Crystal Empire her entire life," Celestia answered, "And we have been keeping the citizens of Earth safe and in peace as best as we can, so that she has time to find her lost empire."

"But King Sombra is obsessed with her," Pinkie said, "She's in danger if you send her there."

"Helios is with her," Celestia said, "And you six will be with her as well."

"Does Shining Armor know? Does he know he's Helios?" Twilight asked.

"He has always known, yes," Celestia said.

"How can you two be related in this world, if Helios has always known?" Pinkie asked.

"Luna and I are the only two who have never changed shells in this world," Celestia said, "Cadance did once. Helios has a couple of times. We do not choose which shells our souls are reborn into. As Cadance said earlier this morning, Twilight, it was just a coincidence."

"I still don't see why you two are sendin' her up there though," Applejack said, "Her kingdom or not, if this King Som-whatsa is as obsessed with her as y'all are sayin', why are you puttin' her in danger?"

"And why did you hand over the power of the Imperial Silver Crystal to us? As the Elements? Why do you no longer wield the power?" Twilight asked.

"Your questions coincide," Luna said, "The crystal is always passed down through the moon kingdom's rulers. There have been times, due to time lapses, where more than one crystal has been in existence at one time. But when we remade the Earth, changed its landscapes and inhabitants, whatever remained of "duplicate" crystals vanished, and only one remained. And, as I stated before, since it was now Small Lady's time to reign, the crystal belonged to her."

"Since she was busy trying to find the Crystal Empire, she decided it was best if we broke up the crystal into its original seven rainbow crystal parts. Luna and I would hold onto six pieces, and Cadance the seventh. We changed the names of the crystals to the Elements of Harmony, so that invaders would not recognize our planet and its powers, so that we would be left alone by those searching for the Imperial Silver Crystal," Celestia explained.

"Except once I was corrupted, I could no longer be trusted with half of the crystals," Luna said, "So the Elements were then passed down to you six, and you fit the embodiments of their powers."

"It was actually a bit of a coincidence," Celestia said, "We didn't plan for the Element holders to also be our sleeping senshi."

"Although now, I guess it is for the better that it worked out that way," Luna said.

"So basically... what you're saying is that you simply just... can't use the crystal anymore," Twilight said, "and it's just in Cadance's hooves."

"Yes," Celestia said, "Our times as rulers ended long ago. Of course we have our own, special powers now unique to this world. But they do not compare to that of the full Imperial Silver Crystal."

"So, this 'seventh Element' is one that Cadance has?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," said Luna.

"How can it act on its own?" Twilight asked.

"Originally, Luna held three crystals, and I three, and Cadance one. With the seven of them split up, the full crystal could not materialize. Once Luna became corrupt, I bound the six into the Elements of Harmony. But the seventh rainbow crystal is still free on its own," Celestia explained.

"So we could use all seven of the Elements together and create the power of the full crystal?" Twilight asked, "And defeat King Sombra that way."

"In theory, yes, you could," Luna said.

The seven of them stood in silence for a few minutes. As Twilight put the pieces together, it all started to fall into place. It made sense to her.

"If Small Lady is in power... shouldn't she have her own personal guardians?" Pinkie asked quietly, as she looked towards Luna, "Like the four of us were to you?"

Luna sighed. "She did... does."

"Did they, too, perish in the last fight? I can't recall..." Rarity said. Luna shook her head. She glanced towards the window and sighed again.

"They were captured by King Sombra and disappeared with the Crystal Empire. They were put asleep by King Sombra, left barely alive. And now, in this world, they are the mysterious crystal ponies. They have been lost for so long. And they are still asleep. She has no one, but all of you, to protect her."

Chapter 8: Journey

Chapter 8

Journey

"Cadance will give you details on what you are to do in the Crystal Empire," Celestia said. "I suggest you head out now."

"Of course," Twilight said, nodding firmly.

She and the others began to leave the throne room. Celestia retreated into a secret room hidden within the walls off to one side. Once she was gone, Luna began to walk with the others.

"Are you coming with us?" Twilight asked, her voice a little too hopeful sounding for her like. Luna shook her head.

"Unfortunately not," the princess said quietly. She sighed, "Please forgive Celestia. When she was in rule, long ago, secrecy was part of the job. She only ever instructed the bare basics of what a team needed to know. I did not want to keep things from you, especially not when you used to be my guardians, my best friends..."

Luna stopped and closed her eyes. Twilight wasn't sure, but it looked as though a tear formed in the corner of the princess's eye.

"I do wish I could go fight with you," Luna said, "Wish with all my heart I could be in the battle, protecting my daughter. But fighting now... it's just... just too hard. Too hard without Endymion at my side. Sometimes it's too hard to breathe. And my mother is right—our souls are tired. Our time has passed and yet we remain. We must protect the rest of Equestria, should you fail, and should King Sombra attempt to take over."

Twilight hesitated and then tentatively put her hoof on Luna's shoulder. Luna opened her eye and gave her a small smile.

"We won't fail," Twilight said.

"I know," Luna said, "I have never doubted you."

Luna pulled Twilight into a hug. Twilight was caught off guard, but then quickly hugged back.

"I've missed you, my scouts," Luna said quietly.

"We'll always be here," Twilight said softly.

They broke apart and Twilight left the room, joining the others.

"We need to go get Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said.

"She should be back soon. Let's go to our room and meet her there," Twilight said.

She led the others back to their room. They picked up their bags, ready to go, and waited for Fluttershy. Fluttershy arrived only a few minutes later. Spike was on her back, a cone of ice cream in his hand.

"Oh man, did you guys miss something fun! There are so many different animals, some I didn't even know existed! We're going to have a blast on Thursday when we go to this!" Spike said.

"And there's a special group rate, for a group of 6 or more," Fluttershy said. She smiled as she brought out the tickets. But as she looked around and saw the sombre, serious faces of her friends, she hesitated. "Is something wrong?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "Fluttershy, while I was on my way out, I got called to the palace to see the princesses. They have a mission for us, for the Elements of Harmony. There's an old empire, the Crystal Empire, north of Equestria. Long ago, it was attacked by an evil unicorn king, and as the princesses went to banish him, the empire disappeared. It's back. Now they fear that with the empire's return, King Sombra, the evil unicorn, is back as well."

"Oh my," Fluttershy said.

"They want us to leave right away," Rarity said.

Fluttershy nodded and picked up her bag. She regretfully packed the tickets away.

"We'll come back and see the exhibit after, I promise," Twilight said. She smiled at Fluttershy, who smiled back. "Ok, let's go."

Twilight led the group to the train station. The princesses had arranged for their tickets to be held at the counter. They boarded the next train and waited impatiently inside their car.

"My brother and Princess Cadance are already up there," Twilight explained to Fluttershy, "Apparently Cadance has put some sort of force-field around the empire."

"There's no defense mechanism on its own?" Rainbow Dash asked. The five of them already knew all of the details, but they played dumb so that they could fill in Fluttershy and not look suspicious.

"There is. The key to it is the Crystal Ponies. Long ago, they used to be able to protect the kingdom themselves. But now, they can't. I'm sure Cadance will tell us more when we get there," Twilight said, "I'm not sure of all of the details."

"The crystal ponies must be glamorous," Rarity said, "All sparkly and such."

"Now's not the time to make fashion notes, Rarity," Applejack said. A few of the others chuckled.

"Well, I'm going to catch some shuteye then," Rainbow Dash said, "Wake me when we get there."

Twilight nodded. The others around them settled in for the long train ride as well, the rhythmic movements of the train causing many of them to fall asleep.

When Twilight woke, she didn't feel all too well rested. Her dreams had been plagued with scenes of her memory, her old lives flashing and meshing together. When she looked out the window, she could barely see anything. It was dark and snowing like mad. She could barely even see the train station as they pulled in.

The six of them walked out onto the platform, their scarves blowing crazily in the wind.

"Twily!"

Twilight squinted in the blizzard and saw her brother approaching them. He wore a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck and he had thick goggles on.

"Shining Armor!"

"So glad you could all make it so quickly," Shining said. He hugged Twilight briefly. "Come on, it's a bit of a walk, and we don't want to stay out here after dark."

"It's not after dark?" Pinkie Pie said, balloons flying out of her bag. Shining Armor chuckled slightly.

"Everypony hold onto this," he said. He unravelled a long piece of rope. "So nopony gets lost or left behind."

As they followed Shining Armor through the wintry wonderland, Twilight couldn't help but occasionally stare at him. He knew this whole time who she was. He had known that she was a sailor soldier the minute she was born. And he had never said anything. She couldn't remember a lot about Helios, except that he and Small Lady were in love, and that he had appeared in her childhood dreams as an alicorn.

"How much further?" Twilight asked. She could barely grip the rope, she was so cold. Her scarf had blown off long ago, and she was surprised she hadn't lost her saddle bags as well.

"We're almost there," Shining Armor said, "It's just—"

But his last few words were lost. Fluttershy shrieked from near the rear of their chain, and Twilight turned her head. A massive wave of black, lightning cloud began to descend towards them. A maniacal laugh floated from somewhere in the blizzard.

"Run!" Shining Armor shouted. He let go of the rope and faced the monster. Twilight began to run, leading the group. Just ahead she could see the outline of the empire, the force around it. She raced towards it. She jumped through the barrier, the others tumbling in after. A few seconds later, Shining Armor emerged as well. Twilight turned just in time to see the black cloud shriek in anger and stay outside of the shield.

"Everypony ok?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yes, we are; but you're not," Twilight said, "Your horn!"

Shining Armor stared up at his head. He tried to use magic, but it only fizzled and failed. At the top of his horn were small, black crystals, poison left behind by the beast.

Chapter 9: The Crystal Empire

Chapter 9

The Crystal Empire

Shining Armor sighed. "It will be ok."

Twilight couldn't help but disagree with him. She bit her bottom lip and looked at her brother, very concerned. How could he protect Cadance without his magic? How could he protect any of them? The empire? Wasn't this technically his empire as well? Even if she disregarded his marriage to Cadance in Equestrian times, Small Lady and Helios had been married long ago, long before it was Small Lady's time to reign. He was her consort.

"Come, this way," Shining Armor said.

Twilight sighed and followed him. Although she was deeply concerned for her brother, she couldn't help but push that aside for the moment, as she took in with awe the beauty that was the Crystal Empire.

It was vastly different from the Crystal Tokyo she saw in her memories. Crystal Tokyo had been a metropolis city. The Crystal Empire seemed more serene. Lush greenery was all around, the sky within the force field was a crisp, robin egg's blue. Quaint houses and shops began to line up along the streets, and in the centre, was a magnificent crystal palace. It was tall and slight, and looked much like the palace Twilight saw in her memories. This one piece was the only thing that remained from their older lives.

As they walked towards the palace, Twilight caught glimpses of the pony residents. Their manes, though shiny, weren't what she had expected. They seemed shimmery, yet faded. All of their faces were glum, and they all seemed to walk with some hesitation or hunch.

"Not very crystally, are they?" Rainbow Dash murmured.

"These ponies have been through a lot," Shining Armor said. He paused, and glanced towards Fluttershy and then back to Twilight, "as I'm sure Princess Celestia told you."

Twilight nodded in comprehension. She knew what he was talking about. Princess Celestia explained that the ponies here had actually been trapped by King Sombra when they were still humans. Throughout their whole pony lives, they had been enslaved by him. If Twilight had been enslaved for thousands of years, she would be looking pretty glum as well.

Shining Armor led them into the palace. Upstairs, in the main throne room, Cadance sat on a mighty throne, her head held high. But as they got closer, Twilight noticed the circles under her eyes, the constant light of magic around her horn. Cadance gave them a weathered smile.

"I'm so glad you could all make it," Cadance said. Twilight gave Cadance a concerned look. It hadn't even been a full 24 hours since they had learned of their sailor soldier lives. Cadance had just been in the Crystal Empire for a few hours. And she was already so beaten down.

"Cadance, what's the matter?" Twilight said, "Why are you so weak? You haven't even been here that long..."

"I know," Cadance said, "But we had trouble when we first arrived here. Because we did not leave right away, right when the empire reappeared, the evil out there had already taken over most of it. Shining Armor and I had to force our way in, and much of my energy is spent. And now, I must keep up this constant shield, should that evil try to break in again."

"We were going to take turns maintaining the shield—but now..." Shining Armor trailed off, as he glanced up at his horn. Cadance stepped forward and nuzzled him.

"Do not worry, Shining Armor, I will be alright," she said softly.

"You can't hold this up forever," Shining Armor said, "Twilight is right. We haven't even been here a full day. There has to be some other way..."

"The only thing we can do is to defeat the evil out there. Stop it before King Sombra fully returns," Cadance said.

"And that's why the Elements of Harmony are here! What can we do to help, Princess?" Rainbow Dash asked. She gave Cadance a salute that Twilight thought was a bit over the top.

"Long ago, the crystal ponies had a way of protecting the empire themselves," Cadance said, "Some sort of magic they used. They could bring up the shield, and keep the cold out, and whatever else laid beyond their borders."

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment. A flash of Crystal Tokyo appeared, a flash from the 30th century. She could see four tall beams of light, a shield erected around the palace. But when she looked closer, she saw the beams of light came from her and the other three inner senshi. This had been when Small Lady had gone back in time to find help. They were the ones who had protected the city. How could they do that now?

"Will the Elements of Harmony work...? To protect the empire?" Twilight asked. She couldn't ask what she really wanted to, not with Fluttershy among them. A stab of guilt passed through her when she thought this. She hated hiding things from Fluttershy, but she wasn't one to disregard her orders.

Before Cadance answered, Twilight also turned her head slightly to Rarity. Rarity gazed past her, but shook her head sharply and quickly.

"No, they won't," Cadance answered, seemingly to understand Twilight's real question, "Maybe... maybe once, long ago, they could have. But now, the power comes from the crystal ponies. Except, I'm not sure what that power is."

Twilight frowned. What could they do? Cadance sighed loudly. She walked back over to the throne and slumped into it.

"Shining Armor, dear... why don't you show them to their quarters?" Cadance asked.

"You're too weak to stay on your own, I should stay by your side," he said.

"I'll stay," Twilight piped up quickly. Shining Armor nodded.

"Alright then, girls, let me show you wear your rooms are," Shining Armor said, "I know it's been a long day for you. I'm sure you'd like to be somewhat settled before we try and figure out this conundrum."

Twilight nodded in secret to the others as Shining Armor led Fluttershy and them away. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, she walked over and sat in front of Cadance.

"How are you really doing?" Twilight asked. Cadance took somewhat of a heaving breath, as though she were fighting back tears.

"I'm terrified," Cadance said, "Terrified, and yet relieved at the same time. The Crystal Empire is back. You don't know how long we've waited for this—how long I've waited for this. My kingdom is finally back. So many lives were lost fighting for this empire, and all of its inhabitants have been imprisoned for so long. I thought it would never reappear, and I'm so glad it has.

"But I'm concerned at what cost it has reappeared. What's going to happen? Another war? Are we going to lose the remaining scouts? What if Helios falls? I remember how broken my mother was... she could barely carry on. Even now, she gets so lost sometimes. I think the whole Nightmare Moon thing was somehow related to her grieving, but she never wants to talk about it. Never wants to talk about him... It's just too painful. I'm not sure I could ever go through what she did.

"And King Sombra... he's just... obsessed. Obsessed. If you could remember, Twilight... you would cringe. I still have nightmares sometimes. It's even worse than when Prince Diamond was obsessed with my mother, if you can even remember that."

Cadance sighed heavily. She closed her eyes for a moment and then recomposed herself.

"You remember that the main four of you erected the barrier around the castle in Crystal Tokyo, when it was in trouble. It won't work the same any more. Your senshi powers are essentially intertwined with your Elements, and therefore, the power that the four of you shared is gone. It's moved on. It was passed onto the crystal ponies, in hopes that they could protect themselves from King Sombra and wherever their exile was," Cadance said. "We know that at one point it worked and it worked well. The empire had reappeared quickly at one point and was sustaining itself quite nicely. But then, just as fast as it had come, King Sombra reappeared, took over, and it vanished once again.

"I don't know how they did it. Nopony seems to know how they did it, it was so mysterious. At that time, we tried to keep our distance from the Crystal Empire, because we knew it was a trap, a lure. This time, we want to ensure that it doesn't disappear again, and that King Sombra is defeated for good."

"Wait... our senshi powers are now intertwined with our Elements?" Twilight asked, "I thought our Elements were six of the seven rainbow crystals?"

"Luna and Celestia did not tell you? Your powers are now part of that mixture. The Elements of Harmony, that power, is the first level. They must be used together. Once you have harnessed that energy, you can push through, onto the second level, that is your senshi powers. They can be used individually. And the third level, is when both the power of the Elements and your senshi powers come together, along with the seventh, and make the power of the Silver Imperial Crystal," Cadance explained.

"How are we to tap into our senshi powers without awakening Saturn?" Twilight asked.

"She cannot tap into her power if she is not awakened as a scout. She would be unaffected, possibly knocked out," Cadance said.

"Would she be ok?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, of course," Cadance said. Her voice softened, "I know it seems like we are being extremely hard on Fluttershy. But please, trust me, we do not think any less of her. We are merely afraid of her. Believe when I say that we want no danger to come to her. Hotaru was—and always will be—one of my best and dearest friends."

Twilight nodded, flashbacks of Rini and Hotaru flipping through her mind.

"So, what should we do now?" Twilight asked.

"You must find a way for the crystal ponies to put up their own barrier," Cadance said, "Without it, I will have to keep up the barrier. And if I am putting up the barrier, I cannot fight. And if I cannot fight, we cannot access the power of the Silver Imperial Crystal."

Twilight nodded. She stood and turned to leave the room. She then paused, Cadance's words ringing in her head. She turned her head back and looked at the pink alicorn.

"You hold the seventh Element?" Twilight asked, the math adding up.

"Yes."

Chapter 11: Crystal Fair

Chapter 11

Crystal Fair

"The answers are all here! I am positive that if we put on the Crystal Fair, we can help the crystal ponies and provide the energy needed in order to keep King Sombra at bay," Twilight said.

She and the others stood in front of Cadance and Shining Armor. Twilight levitated a big book in front of her and began flipping through the pages explaining the Crystal Fair. "It says here that it was put together by their first queen, and it became their most important tradition. First queen...?"

"Of course... the Crystal... Fair," Cadance whispered, barely audible. "They are referring... to me... as their first queen. I was supposed to be... their first queen in a supposedly... peaceful time in the solar system. It was supposed to be the beginning of a new era... of peace. That is why... I created the fair. How could I... have forgotten?"

"It's ok my love," Shining Armor said. "You are too weak to remember such things. I should have remembered it too."

"Everything is here in the book. The other scouts and I should be able to pull it together," Twilight said. She didn't like how weak Princess Cadance was looking. She barely had the energy to speak.

"Well..." Shining Armor said slowly, "If you girls believe you can do it, it's worth a shot. It does sound promising."

"We'll start right away."

"Alright girls," Twilight said. She met with the others in an adjoining room. "Princess Cadance needs our help. Her magic isn't going to last forever. She's really weak."

"Oh my," Fluttershy said quietly. Twilight nodded sympathetically.

"We can save the crystal ponies with their history. We need to get this fair just right, otherwise it might not work," Twilight said. She began to flip through the pages. "It says here that they liked jousting. Rainbow Dash, I'm putting you in charge of that."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Rarity, I need you to make a bunch of flags that look like this," Twilight said. She held up the book and showed it to Rarity. Rarity studied it for a moment and then nodded. "Fluttershy, I need you to work the petting zoo."

"Petting zoo?" Fluttershy asked, her voice on the tip of excitement.

"Tiny ewes," Twilight said. "Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you two start collecting crystal berries, and start turning them into sweets. We can do this you guys—things don't need to get complicated."

Twilight gave four of her five friends a look. And they nodded back in comprehension. Things didn't need to get complicated meant that they could fix this without resorting to the Elements of Harmony. Without resorting to their special scout powers. Without resorting—ultimately—to waking Sailor Saturn.

The next morning everything was set up. Streamers and flags hung from rooftop to rooftop, stalls decorated with balloons sold sweet treats, and a generous size petting zoo sat just off to the palace. Twilight stood in the middle of the town square and took a deep breath.

"This looks amazing!" she said. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face. This was going to work. It had to! They had everything set up down to the last detail!

"Uh, what's this thing?" Applejack asked. Twilight turned. Applejack prodded at a crystal pedestal sculpture with a crystal heart sculpted on top.

"The last page in the book mentioned a crystal heart as the centre of the fair. So I carved one out of a crystal block," Twilight said proudly. She was quite fond of the crystal carving. She'd really taken her time and made sure it looked really nice.

"Nice thinkin'!" Applejack said. "I think we're ready to get this fair goin'!"

Twilight ran into the castle and up the stairs. She stood with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor and gave Pinkie Pie the signal. Pinkie Pie, standing on the balcony overlooking the empire, winked. She then took in a deep breath and blew into the flugelhorn. An ear-shattering sound came out, and Twilight tried not to cringe. Maybe they would leave the flugelhorn out of the rest of the fair.

"Hear ye, hear ye! Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor welcome and invite you to the Crystal Fair!" Twilight shouted.

Slowly, crystal ponies began to emerge from their houses. And once they heard the words "Crystal Fair" Twilight saw an instantaneous change in a few of them. A few of them had changed back to their normal, vibrant, crystally selves! By just hearing about the fair!

Wait until they actually experience it! Twilight thought.

"Come on in, y'all!" Applejack said from below. "We've got drinks and food that way, games that way, crafts over there, and the crystal heart down by the palace."

Murmurs came from the crystal ponies. Twilight smiled to herself and raced back down. She didn't want to miss a thing!

She watched as Rainbow Dash tried a little too aggresively to mingle with one of the crystal ponies. Twilight smiled to herself and rolled her eyes. She started to walk towards Rainbow Dash when she overheard two crystal ponies talking amongst themselves.

"Seeing all of this... It almost makes me remember a time before the king," one of them said somberly.

"Me too," the other said. They both paused and looked at each other. And then suddenly, they beamed brightly and changed.

"The crystal heart!" they said in unison.

"Do you really think they have it?" the second one asked.

"Of course we do!" Rainbow Dash said, just as Twilight approached. "Can't have a Crystal Fair without the crystal heart, amiright?"

"Of course you can't," a pony said from behind. Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to see it was the librarian. "The whole purpose of the Crystal Fair is to lift the spirits and warm the hearts of the crystal ponies, so that the light within them can power the crystal heart, so that the empire can be protected! I am a librarian!"

Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked at each other.

"What's that about powering the heart?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I just can't believe you found it!" the librarian said, as she transformed back into her crystally self. "King Sombra said that he hid it somewhere we would never, ever, find it! I just hope it's still powerful enough after all these years!"

"Oh no," Twilight whispered. She and Rainbow Dash looked back at each other and then turned towards the fake crystal heart. Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, grabbed one of the bigger flags and flew towards the heart. Twilight raced after her.

Applejack stood beside the crystal heart and gave Rainbow Dash a weird look as she covered it with the flag.

"What are you doin'?" she asked. Twilight tried to catch her breath as she caught up.

"We have a serious problem."

Chapter 12: The Crystal Heart

Chapter 12

The Crystal Heart

"I don't know it was an actual relic, an actual thing! The book doesn't mention anything about the ponies powering the heart!" Twilight said to Shining Armor and Cadance. She and Rainbow Dash stood on the balcony were the princess and prince had been watching over the fair. Twilight frantically flipped through the history book and gasped as she reached the end. "There's a page missing! How did I not notice this earlier!?"

"It's alright, Twilight," Cadance said. Whatever health that had come back to her that morning at breakfast was gone. She looked worse than when they had announced the Crystal Fair and that had just been an hour earlier. Cadance wobbled and collapsed on the ground. Her horn fizzled and the magic stopped flowing. The barrier around the kingdom slowly began to disappear.

"Twily..." Shining Armor said in panic. Black cloud from beyond the kingdom slowly began to creep closer. "The empire is under attack!"

Shining Armor nuzzled Cadance. She smiled at him and stood up. She took a deep breath and a look of determination came over her face. Her horn blazed again and the barrier came back to life.

"We have to find that heart," Shining Armor said.

"Do you remember anything about it? Is it the seventh element?" Twilight asked. Cadance looked between Twilight and Shining Armor. Shining Armor nodded and Cadance sighed heavily.

"More secrets?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Tears sprang in Cadance's eyes as she nodded. "Yes, I am sorry. More secrets. But this one is my own. Nobody else but my sweet Helios knows the shame that I have bestowed upon Equestria and my Crystal Empire. Luna and Celestia do not know... They can never know. I have already disappointed them once, a long time ago, when I had joined the enemy's team. They cannot know that I have lost my element as well."

Twilight's mouth fell open. Silent tears ran down Cadance's face.

"You've lost your element?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash smacked her hoof to her forehead. "What happened? When did this happen?"

"It happened many years ago, when the Crystal Empire had briefly reappeared. I rushed to the empire, in hopes of freeing the crystal ponies and reclaiming my kingdom. It was stupid, and I rushed in without thinking. I was just so overjoyed that my kingdom had reappeared. I did not think much of the danger. These poor people—now ponies—have been mysteriously trapped by this evil king for centuries upon centuries. These are the subjects that I was meant to rule, to protect. And I had failed. I was not going to let the opportunity pass by.

"Luna and Celestia objected, but I did not listen. I arrived at the empire the minute it reappeared. Helios had followed me, and together we tried to battle King Sombra. But he was too powerful. He overthrew my element, and nearly killed Helios. And before Luna or Celestia could show up and aid us, the empire disappeared again. I nearly went with it, but Helios pulled me out just in time. But, unfortunately, my element went with it."

"I swore that I would not tell Celestia and Luna what had happened," Shining Armor said. "I would never betray my wife."

"And thankfully, we haven't had need to use the seventh element, as the Elements of Harmony have been holding up on their own. But I fear for this battle we will need it," Cadance said. "This 'crystal heart' that the ponies talk about must be it. It has to be."

"The librarian said that King Sombra hid it somewhere they would never find it," Twilight said, trying not to let the panic seep into her voice.

"How did the crystal ponies protect themselves against King Sombra before the seventh element was left behind here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You've all been saying that they've been fighting against him the whole time right?"

"Yes. For the majority of the time, they have been his slaves. But there was a brief moment, before the empire reappeared, that it was being protected against him, even though it was still absent from Equestria," Cadance said.

"But how was it being protected if it was before the time of the crystal heart?" Rainbow Dash asked again.

Cadance winced as the magic from her horn fizzled and faded again briefly. Shining Armor rubbed her back and Cadance took a few moments to breathe deeply.

"My scouts were protecting it. My four guardians. Like you four had for Crystal Tokyo, they erected a barrier around the Crystal Empire," Cadance explained. "But King Sombra quickly put them into an eternal sleep and the crystal ponies became his slaves once more."

An idea began to form in Twilight's head. She began to talk fast and excitedly.

"I've got a plan!" she said. "All we need to do is find your four guardians, awaken them, get them to take over with the barrier, and then we all set out to find the crystal heart!"

"Oh, is that all," Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.

"And if something bad happens to occur during our search, we can battle King Sombra using the Elements of Harmony while you and Shining Armor continue to look for the crystal heart!" Twilight said. She clapped her hooves together and smiled. She ignored Rainbow Dash's skepticism. Yes, it was a lot to do, but it was doable and it was a plan. A damned good one, if Twilight did say so herself.

"While that is a brilliant and lovely plan, Twily, there's just one problem; we don't know where the four guardians are," Shining Armor said.

"What? What do you mean!?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof to her forehead again.

"When the empire first reappeared, that was the first thing I did," Shining Armor explained. "Cadance put up the barrier around the kingdom and watched for trouble up here, while I scoured the empire for the four guardians. We don't know where they are. King Sombra seems to have hidden them as well."

"And they're not likely to be sleeping next to the crystal heart," Rainbow Dash said. She sighed and groaned in frustration.

"It's ok, it's ok, it's ok," Twilight said, more to herself than to the others. She tried to keep her panic down. "We'll find them."

"What if they're dead?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight shot her a look.

"Rainbow Dash, don't be so insensitive!" Twilight snapped.

"No, it's ok Twilight, it's a valid question," Cadance said. "They're not dead. I would have felt it."

"What if they're being kept out of the empire?" Twilight asked.

"I've already looked far and wide outside of the empire in the frozen outskirts. There's nothing but darkness out there," Shining Armor said.

"How would King Sombra have hid them outside of the empire?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"What if when he grabbed the seventh element, he kicked out the four guardians? What if they're living in Equestria somewhere?" Twilight asked slowly.

Cadance looked at Shining Armor. Shining Armor shrugged.

"It could be possible, I guess..." he said.

"Wouldn't Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have noticed them? Or Princess Cadance for that matter?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, they all knew who we were."

"It'd be different," Cadance said slowly. "I only saw them briefly in their pony shells. I never told Luna and Celestia about them, because then I would have had to explain about losing the seventh element. But I think I would have known. I mean, I was right there when it happened. There is no way that King Sombra would have been able to shoot them across the country or something, without me noticing. They have to be hidden within the empire, just as hidden as the crystal heart is."

"Ok," Twilight said. "We need to go find them then. And the crystal heart."

"You're right," Shining Armor said.

"You stay here, Shining Armor. Cadance needs you," Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash and I will look for the crystal heart and the guardians. The other four will keep the fair running and the crystal ponies away from the fake crystal heart I made."

"What are their names? I need to know them if I want to reawaken then," Rainbow Dash said.

"They are Sailor Ceres, Sailor Juno, Sailor Pallas and Sailor Vesta. CereCere, JunJun, PalaPala and VesVes."

Chapter 13: The Search

Chapter 13:

The Search

"She lost her Rainbow Crystal? Her element?" Rarity hissed. Twilight was surprised to hear the unicorn use that tone of language when referring to Small Lady. Pluto had adored Small Lady. "How could she let this happen?!"

"It was an accident," Twilight murmured. She looked cautiously around. She had pulled Pinkie Pie and Rarity over to the side, to fill them in on what was going on. Applejack continued to feign of ponies trying to come see the crystal heart that Twilight had made, and Fluttershy was oblivious and happy in the petting zoo. "King Sombra took it before she could react. You need to calm down, Rarity."

"Calm down? How can I calm down? I can't believe she kept this from her mother," Rarity said. She began to pace anxiously back and forth, her glossy mane bouncing with each step. "Do you understand what will happen, Twilight, if we can't find it? If the Elements of Harmony fail to stop this monster and we can't access the seventh element, that's it. Game over. We'll all be killed and Small Lady will be subjected to horrors I can't even imagine at the hooves of this obsessed king."

"I understand all of that, Rarity. We're not going to let it happen. You need to be optimistic," Twilight said. "Spike and I are going to go search for the crystal heart and Rainbow Dash is going to go look for the four guardians. Cadance will keep up the barrier. It will all work out."

"We should help you look and come along," Pinkie Pie said.

"I agree," Rarity said.

"You can't," Twilight said. "I need as many of you out there as possible to keep the crystal ponies from realizing that we don't have the crystal heart, and that King Sombra could break in here at any moment. I need you to keep peace and keep them away from that carving as long as possible. Applejack can't do it by herself."

"Well I should help Cadance with the barrier then," Rarity said.

"You don't know the spell. Just help out Applejack. Tell her what's going on. Pinkie, you let Fluttershy know what's going on too, albeit the whole senshi bit," Twilight said.

Rarity opened her mouth as though to argue again, but Rainbow Dash cut her off.

"The longer we stand here arguing about the plan, the closer King Sombra gets to breaking in and the less time we have to find the guardians and the crystal," she said. Rarity huffed, but ultimately nodded.

She and Pinkie ran off towards their other friends to fill them in. Twilight began to pace and pace.

"I don't even know where to start," Twilight said. She placed her hoof to her forehead and let out a groan.

"Just start anywhere. I'm going to work my way from the outskirts of the empire in," Rainbow Dash said. "I figure it's easier to hide four sleeping guardians outside of the city."

"Good plan. I'll go find Spike. As soon as you find them, inform them of what is happening and tell Cadance. Then come find me if I haven't found the heart by then."

"Got it."

Twilight rounded up Spike and began to search the palace.

"Can you tell me a bit more of what's going on? I feel like you're holding something back, Twilight. I know you made me go with Fluttershy on purpose yesterday to distract her, and now you're frantically searching for some crystal heart? What gives?" Spike asked.

"It's complicated and a lot to explain, Spike," Twilight said. "I wouldn't even know where to begin. I just need your help finding the crystal heart. It's the power that the crystal ponies used to battle King Sombra, and he's hidden it somewhere."

The crystal ponies must have briefly found a way to power the heart with their love and spirits, and used it to keep away King Sombra on their own, Twilight thought. Otherwise there would be no need for the Crystal Fair and they wouldn't be so eager to see it.

"What makes you think it's going to be in the palace?" Spike asked.

"I don't. Rainbow Dash decided to work her way out and in of the empire, so I've decided to do the opposite. I figure we'll cross paths at one point and then we'll basically just be double checking each other's work. Both the guardians and the crystal have to be inside the empire, otherwise this whole thing is just impossible," Twilight said.

"Guardians?" Spike asked.

"I'm sorry, Spike, but I really don't have time to explain everything right now. Rainbow Dash is looking for specific crystal ponies right now to help Cadance with the barrier around the empire, but King Sombra has hidden them as well," Twilight said.

Twilight and Spike entered the throne room. Twilight began to lift statues, looking for any hidden doorways or staircases, while Spike began to look under rugs and behind the thrones. If I were to hide something in my own castle, where would I hide it?

Twilight stopped at her own thought. She paused and stared at Spike, who was lifting the pillow off of the throne.

"What is it?" Spike asked.

"I've got it!" Twilight said.

"You know where it is?" he asked.

"No, because this isn't King Sombra's castle," Twilight said.

"Isn't this where he would have lived while he was in rule?" Spike asked.

"Yes, but it probably didn't look like this," Twilight said. "I can't imagine a dark creature like him living in such a happy, bright atmosphere."

Twilight stared at the crystal structures behind the throne. She closed her eyes and concentrated her magic. With a lot of effort, she began to mimic what she imagined dark magic would look like. How it would feel and how it would move and act.

Slowly, the pillar behind the throne began to change from a white crystal to a black one. The black crystal formed a long shadow over the centre of the room and revealed a secret staircase. Twilight smiled and Spike's mouth dropped open.

"Whoa... how did you do that?" he asked. They both stared down the dark, deep hole, watching as the stairs cascaded into blackness.

"I just... I don't know," Twilight said. She was a little stunned herself. She hadn't even been sure if it would work, but it did. Hopefully it lead somewhere and wasn't a dead end.

Twilight lit a light at the end of her horn and began to walk down the stairs.

"You stay up here," she said, when she noticed that Spike had hesitated on joining her. He sighed in relief and Twilight continued down the dark, steep steps.

The steps seemed to go on forever. She could barely hear Spike when he yelled "Can you see what's at the bottom yet?"

"No," Twilight replied. She broke off a small chunk of rock from the wall and let it fall to the bottom. After a minute of silence, she heart the very faint clink of it hit the bottom.

"Spike, can you see outside?" Twilight shouted.

A moment later, Spike responded. "It's not good, Twilight. It looks like Cadance's power is fading faster. I think I see darkness already inside the barrier."

Twilight gasped. She hadn't realized that Cadance was that weak. If she didn't find the crystal soon, or if Rainbow Dash didn't find the guardians, they were going to fail and Equestria was going to fall.

Chapter 10: Crystal Ponies

Chapter 10

Crystal Ponies

Before Twilight could ask Cadance anything about the seventh Element, Cadance let out a sharp cry. Her horn fizzled for a second, as did the barrier outside. Twilight took a step towards her, but Shining Armor appeared out of nowhere and was suddenly at his wife's side. Her friends appeared soon after, hovering outside the door.

"Please Twily, you need get started right away. Cadance can't hold up this barrier forever," Shining Armor asked.

"What... what if I took a turn holding the barrier?" Twilight asked.

"It would take you time to master the spell and endurance required," Cadance said slowly, her stream of magic steady again, "While I do appreciate the offer, there isn't enough time for that. Please, you need to find a way for the crystal ponies to put up the barrier themselves."

Twilight nodded and left the room. She led her friends off to a secluded part of the palace and took a deep breath. She glanced at the setting sun outside. So much had happened, all in one day.

"What do we need to do?" Applejack asked.

"Princess Cadance said something about the crystal ponies being able to put up the barrier?" Rarity asked. Twilight nodded.

"Yes," she said, "Cadance said that long ago, the crystal ponies could put up their own barrier around the empire. They had a way of powering it, but she doesn't remember. Nopony seems to know."

"Maybe the crystal ponies will know?" Pinkie Pie suggested.

"They might," Twilight said, "It would be helpful if we did. But we can't go around asking them at night. It will have to wait until morning."

She sighed. She closed her eyes and thought of poor Cadance suffering, putting all of her energy into keeping the empire safe. It was her empire after all. If only they could put up the barrier with their senshi magic, instead of having to rely on the crystal ponies.

Shining Armor found them. He smiled calmly.

"Thank you again for your offer, Twilight," Shining Armor said, "Sorry if we seemed a bit desperate back there. That's the first time Cadance has cried out like that, and the first time the barrier has wavered. I've brought her some tea and something to eat, and she seems to be doing better now. I'm going to stay up with her all night. This is the first night we've been here, so she should be alright.

"You're right in that you can't go asking the crystal ponies at night. They're a pretty gloomy and jumpy group, though that's understandable with everything that they've been through. I suggest you girls get some shuteye and you can start your research in the morning. I'm not sure what the crystal ponies will remember, but hopefully they'll be able to help."

"That sounds like the best plan," Twilight said. She was just realizing now how tired she was. It had been a long day full of new information to absorb.

"I'll see you in the morning, then," Shining Armor said.

Twilight nodded, and slowly, she and her friends wandered off into the palace, finding their respective rooms, and all drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Twilight felt the most rested she had been in a long time. Ever since she learned the meaning behind the dreams, they no longer plagued her as nightmares. Instead, her subconscious welcomed them with open forelegs, and she embraced them.

She met up with her friends in the dining hall for breakfast. Shining Armor and Cadance were there as well. Cadance looked well, and her magic flowed steadily, though she did have bags under her eyes and her mane looked a little frumpled.

"Did you all sleep well?" Cadance asked.

Murmurs of agreement were heard around the table. The mane 6 ate their breakfast quickly, bid the princess and Shining Armor a good day, and set off into the empire.

With the sun shining brightly above them, Twilight and her friends walked out of the palace and into the streets. Cheery shops and houses lined the boulevard, and a few ponies walked about. Right away, Twilight could tell that the ponies looked off.

"They don't look very... crystally," Rainbow Dash said, repeating her words from the previous day.

"Like my brother said, they've been through a lot," Twilight said.

The crystal ponies looked glossier than the other ponies Twilight had seen in Equestria. Though Rainbow Dash was right—it wasn't quite what she had expected from them. Their manes all seemed to hang down, as though gravity were weighing down on them. Their faces were demure and somewhat sad. None of them seemed to notice the six foreign ponies.

"Well..." Twilight set, letting out a deep exhale, "Let's split up and see what we can find. Meet back in an hour?"

The others nodded in agreement and they all set off in different directions. Twilight headed towards a mare walking down the street, whose mane was drab and face fixated on the ground as she walked.

"Excuse me!" Twilight said. She was somewhat surprised that the pony turned towards her instantly. By the way the ponies had been acting, Twilight almost thought that she and her friends couldn't be seen. But apparently, the crystal ponies knew that they were there.

"Hi there!" Twilight said, trying her best to sound extra cheerful. Just looking at this crystal pony made her want to console her. "My friends and I are visiting from Ponyville! I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me about the Crystal Empire?"

"Um... I can try, I guess," the mare answered.

"Do you know anything about how you crystal ponies used to protect the empire, before King Sombra came?" Twilight asked. She noticed that the mare winced slightly at King Sombra's name.

"No, I'm sorry. I can't seem to remember much about a time before King Sombra..." the mare answered.

"What about," Twilight glanced around to make sure Fluttershy wasn't in earshot, "What about a time when we were all humans. When this was known as Crystal Tokyo. Do you remember anything about that?"

"Crystal... Tokyo?"

Twilight felt a flutter of hope rush through her, as she watched the mare tilt her head to one side as she pondered the name. But then the mare sighed and shook her head.

"No, I don't know anything about a tokyo," the mare said. "I'm sorry. I don't think anypony remembers anything about a time before King Sombra..."

"Oh," Twilight sighed, "It's ok."

The mare then winced and shuddered, "And I don't think anypony really wants to remember when he ruled either."

"That's alright," Twilight said. She tried to sound cheery again, "Thank you for your time!"

Despite what the mare had said about nopony remembering anything before King Sombra, Twilight set out and asked a few more ponies she saw on the street. But they all had the same responses. They didn't remember anything before King Sombra. Nopony knew anything about putting up a barrier.

Twilight sighed and slowly made her way back to the meeting spot. A few of the others were already there, and the rest arrived at the same time Twilight did.

"Did anypony have any luck?" Twilight asked, the desperation clear in her voice. Everyone shook their heads.

"Nopony seemed to remember anything," Rarity said.

"It's like they all have a collective amnesia," Applejack said, "Though I did hear somethin' about a library."

"A library?" Twilight asked, her hopes rising. "A library!? This is excellent! Why didn't you say so sooner, Applejack? There has, has, has to be answers a library! It's a library! Come on!"

Applejack led them to the library. Twilight gazed hopefully at the rows upon rows upon columns of books. There had to be answer in there. No doubt about it.

An older looking mare caught her eye.

"Excuse me!" Twilight said, trotting happily over to the librarian, "We're looking for a book!"

"We have plenty of books," the librarian said drolly. Twilight did a little hop. They sure did have a lot of books! Too many books to put into words!

"We're looking for a history book," Applejack said, "Something that might explain how the empire used to protect itself."

"History, yes, of course," the librarian said. She began to turn left and then right and then left and then right, "Let me see..."

Twilight waited patiently. The librarian continued to look in both directions. She then turned to Twilight, a defeated look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I can't seem to remember where the history section is," she said. She paused. "I'm not even sure I work here."

"That's ok!" Twilight piped up quickly, "We'll just take a look around ourselves! It won't be that hard!"

Twilight and the others split up and began to search the library. It was a tedious and long task. While there were many, many different books that Twilight wouldn't mind cracking open and reading, she remained focus on her task. Maybe after they saved the empire, they would let her borrow a few books. Or twenty. Or fifty-seven. Or just let her stay in the library for a few months.

"Anyone else starting to think this is hopeless?" Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash groaned in agreement. But just as Applejack said it, a title caught Twilight's eye.

"Yes! I've found it!" Twilight said. She quickly scanned through the book, ensuring that there was nothing in there about Crystal Tokyo or humans. Couldn't have Fluttershy asking questions and having her memory as Sailor Saturn coming back to her. It was safe. Only Equestrian times.

"History of the Crystal Empire," Twilight said, as her friends crowded around. Hopefully it would have the answers they needed.