Chapters How long is forever, exactly? Some think forever is eternal, it never ends. But there's another part to the story. Everything has to end eventually.
Still, even when it does end, is there a way to bring it back?
December 20th, 2011. Pretty normal day to Josh Larson. Skateboarding, ponies, and loud music. Josh was thirteen years old and a pro skater. Still, that wasn't the most interesting thing about him.
Josh was a brony, a fan of My Little Pony that wasn't a little girl. Thanks to his pro athlete position, he was sort of a spokesman for the entire fandom, if you will. He was ridiculed for it. A lot. But he never really seemed to care.
Anyway, December 20th was one of the days that Josh was home in Brooklyn, which meant he actually had to go to school.
The eighth grade sucked. According to Josh, ninety-five percent of the people in his school were idiots. All they cared about was shit like Facebook and Justin Bieber when they should be paying attention to, you know, life.
There were a few kids who were pretty cool, though. One of them was Josh's best friend Tim Carpenter. Like Josh, Tim was a brony and skated a lot. Unlike Josh, however, Tim was a bit of a nutjob. He always had some sort of conspiracy theory.
Like today, for instance.
The two were at the local skate park, where Josh was sessioning a staircase and Tim was rambling on about some whack theory. Nothing unusual.
"Yo, Josh," alleged Tim, "I think that tomorrow is actually the end of the world. Not next year."
Josh cocked an eyebrow in confusion and hopped off his skateboard.
"Okay, look, Tim, you're my friend and all, but where the fuck did you come up with that?!"
Tim continued, "Look, I know you never believe me on these things, but I swear to Celestia you gotta trust me on this one."
Josh sighed. Tim's conspiracies were always quite a bit far-fetched, but when he came up with a theory about a theory, the guy had gone above and beyond.
"No," Josh responded, "I won't believe you. I never did, so what makes you think I'll believe you now?"
Tim shrugged.
"Bro, how about you talk to me when you stop ODing on laughing gas, alright?" Josh flipped his board into his left hand and headed home.
Meanwhile, across the universe, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle was reading about theories. It was late at night, 11:52 to be exact.
Eventually, Twilight stumbled across a section of her book that stated, "An alternative to the 12/21/12 theory is that the true date is 12/21/11." The lavender pony glanced at her clock. It was eight minutes from that date.
She felt uneasy. She had never believed in conspiracy theories, but something inside her said this one might be true. A strange voice calling to her, if you will.
She began to panic.
Twilight sent a telepathic message to her friends, telling them to come to her house. Within three minutes, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity had all arrived.
"What's going on?" questioned Dash.
Twilight attempted to explain the theory to her friends, but they all just laughed. "Calm down, Twi," Applejack responded, "it's just a theory."
The clock struck midnight.
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble.
"What's going on?!" screamed Pinkie. An orange glow began to consume Ponyville. The six ponies ran to look out the window.
Then the meteors began to strike.
"Quick," called Twilight, "into the basement!" The group ran down the stairs as the lavender unicorn quickly shut the door and barricaded it.
The six sat in the corner as the meteors rained down on Equestria. All of the ponies couldn't help but think of the death and destruction that was surely going on above. Ponies were dying, entire cities crumbling... they were sure of it.
Eventually, the rumbling and deafening noises stopped. The group trotted up the stairs and opened the door - or, what was left of it.
Ponyville was obliterated. Barely anything remained standing, and not a single pony other than the six was known to be left alive. Suddenly, a thought came to Twilight. If it was just the six in the basement, and nopony else was alive, that meant...
"SPIKE!" cried Twilight. The unicorn began to frantically sift through the rubble that was once her home. While she was looking through a pile of her now-wrecked and charred books, she came across Spike.
He hadn't survived.
The baby dragon's corpse was sickening to look at. His bones were crushed, his eyes ripped out of his sockets, and his right leg was missing.
But what made it worse was that almost every single one of Spike's scales had been ripped off, revealing the dragon's mangled insides.
Twilight couldn't hold it in anymore. She began to sob heavily over Spike's dead body.
"I found something!" Rarity announced.
Twilight rubbed her eyes and walked over to the white unicorn. She saw a letter and picked it up. It was from Princess Celestia.
The six were wanted in Canterlot immediately.
Author's Note
Okay, downvote train to hell, here we go! I don't care either way anymore.
-Jimmy-
As the Element bearers made their way towards Canterlot, nothing but ruins surrounded them. Water evaporated, buildings had crumbled - even the Everfree Forest was completely razed.
"Um, Twilight, why was there a huge meteor shower?" asked Fluttershy.
Twilight thought about it for a moment. There hadn't really been much evidence explaining the theory in the book, though she had read something about an old human civilization called the Mayans.
The unicorn concluded, "It had something to do with an ancient civilization, Fluttershy. I... I think."
The six eventually arrived in Canterlot - or what once was Canterlot. The decrepit, destroyed place that lay before them looked nothing like the capital city of Equestria. The only building that was even half standing was the Royal Castle.
"Come on, everypony," announced Dash. The six ponies made their way towards the wrecked castle.
When they walked in, the ponies saw Princess Celestia anxiously pacing back and forth.
"Princess, what's going on?!" Twilight frantically asked. "Why was there a gigantic meteor storm?! Why is the world ending?! Why..." She sighed as her ears drooped. "Just... why?"
Celestia sighed. "Twilight, a two-thousand year old prophecy stating that there would be a universe-wide apocalypse on this very date has come true," she informed. "Unfortunately, the Elements of Harmony in their current state can not reverse the catastrophe."
The six gasped.
"However," continued the princess, "I recently discovered what I believe to be a seventh element - the Element of Freedom. It's holder is somewhere on Earth, the only human still alive."
Celestia's statement confused the group. "I thought our galaxy's connection with Earth was closed centuries ago," commented Rarity. The princess nodded.
"Follow me," ordered Celestia, "I would like to show you something."
She led the six ponies into a room containing a purple and blue portal. "During the apocalypse, the space-time continuum was ripped apart. Because of this, portals have sprung up all over Equestria leading to other galaxies. This particular one leads to Earth."
Twilight glanced at the portal, then back at Celestia. "What do you need us to do, princess?" questioned the unicorn.
Celestia explained, "I need you to go through this portal, find the seventh holder, and locate a place known as the Roman Colosseum in what was the country of Italy. There, you are to activate the Elements of Harmony into the sky. If you do this correctly, you should return the universe to normal."
"You can count on us, your majesty," replied Applejack.
The six entered the portal, and began to experience a series of patterns as they began to transport, at unthinkable speed, to Earth.
Josh woke up. For a second, he had forgotten what happened. He shook his head to refresh, and it came back to him. Tim was right.
It was the end of the world.
The pro skater climbed from the rubble that was once his house and looked around. The sky was a dark grey. Most, if not all of the buildings in the city had been destroyed.
Suddenly, he thought of what had happened to his most prized possessions. Josh frantically searched through the wreckage until he uncovered two of the things that meant most to him.
One was a black ESP V Series electric guitar with an ebony neck. The other was his pro model Zoo York skateboard, fashioned to look like a New York license plate. It had blue and gold D3structo trucks and custom RICTA wheels.
Josh smirked and pulled the two items from the rubble. For a split-second, though, he could have sworn his guitar gave off a blood-red glow. He shrugged it off and began to practice playing Jordan by Buckethead.
As he progressed through the song, a red beam emitted from Josh's guitar without warning and struck what remained of the Coney Island Cyclone, causing it to collapse. "Holy shit," he muttered. The guitarist heard a faint swoosh .
He looked down at his previously pitch-black guitar pick. An Operator Symbol like the one on his shirt - a X through a circle - had been added to the pick design, but in red instead of white.
He had to find Tim.
Josh jumped onto his skateboard with his guitar slung over his shoulder, pushing endlessly. When he got to Tim's house - which was, surprisingly, half standing - he kicked open the door.
As soon as Josh walked inside, he was treated to the sight of Tim's mom Nora, whose dead body lied on a broken table, crushed by a lighting fixture. Ugh, gross, he thought. The skater walked over to the stairs and climbed them, hoping each step that they wouldn't collapse beneath his weight.
"Tim?!" Josh called. He walked into Tim's room and looked around. Nothing. He was about to leave when he tripped over something.
It was Tim's dead body, impaled through the heart by a shard of glass. Josh's eyes widened as he climbed to his feet. Tim Carpenter, the only one who had any prior knowledge of this disaster, was dead.
The skater looked over at Tim's desk. He saw a picture of himself and Tim that was taken at BroNYCon in September. Picking it up with a shaky hand, memories flooded back to him. Memories that would never be matched again.
He placed the picture carefully back down. It's... it's all over.
Josh walked out of the Carpenters' house and got back on his skateboard. Just as he began to ride toward Manhattan, a bright purple orb appeared in the street. The teenager protected his eyes from the blinding light with his guitar. When he was entirely sure the orb had disappeared, he lowered the instrument.
What he saw shocked him. Standing right before him... were the Mane Six. Josh shook his head, but they were still there. This wasn't a dream.
"Are you Josh Larson?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah... that's me,"
"We need you to come with us."
Author's Note
I think this was the longest chapter I've ever written in any story. Comments? Compliments? Criticism? I welcome it all, baby.
-Jimmy-
Josh followed the Mane Six along an obliterated street. The silence - which replaced the normal lively atmosphere of New York City - was ghastly. To Josh, a quiet Brooklyn seemed almost artificial.
"None of this makes any sense to me," commented the skateboarder after what seemed like an eternity. "First, there's a gigantic meteor shower that wipes out the entire universe, then you six come in from god-knows-where. What next, the Browns win a Super Bowl?"
Rainbow Dash questioned, "Who in the hay are the Browns? And what's the Super Bowl?"
Josh simply chuckled a bit. "Well, Dashie, the Browns are a professional football team based in the city of Cleveland," informed Josh. The guitar player then began to explain the entire history of the NFL to Dash.
"I think this kid might be human you, Twi," joked Applejack in a whisper. Twilight slightly smiled, but it quickly vanished. She still wasn't over Spike's death, and hadn't been happy since the meteors.
The group arrived at the wreckage of Luna Park. The place looked like Six Flags New Orleans did after Katrina, except there was no water - not even the ocean. During the meteor shower, the immense level of heat evaporated almost all the water on Earth.
Josh and the Mane Six rested by the collapsed Soaring Eagle. If it wasn't for one of the signs being intact, you'd think it was just a pile of red and blue scrap metal.
Twilight began, "Listen, Josh. The reason me and my friends came here to find you is because Princess Celestia told us there is a seventh Element of Harmony, the Element of Freedom. The universe can't be restored without it. We're here because the bearer of the seventh Element of Harmony... is you."
As soon as the lavender unicorn finished her sentence, a look came onto Josh's face that was something of a mix of shock, excitement, and utter confusion. Nopony could blame the guy.
Finally, the teenager laughed in disbelief. He replied, "You're kidding, right? You sure it isn't somepony else? Like, maybe Lyra, or Gilda, or even Spike?"
Twilight began to think of Spike again. Her ears drooped and her eyes watered. The studious pony sighed.
"Please don't mention Spike. Something... unfortunate happened."
Josh raised an eyebrow. He asked, "Why? What happened?"
"Spike... died in the catastrophe," Rarity answered in place of Twilight.
Josh's eyes widened. Josh got up and walked over to Twilight. "Twilight, I'm... incredibly sorry for you," he comforted, "but you can't let this stop you. Think about it, Twi, if we succeed - which we will, I'll personally see to it - Spike will be brought back to life. There's nothing to worry about."
As Josh spoke, a blood red glow shone through one of the pockets in his jean shorts. Noticing the light, the teenager reached into the pocket to find the source. What he pulled out was his guitar pick.
"Why did Josh's pick glow?" Fluttershy wondered out loud.
Pinkie was first to reply. "Ooh, I know! I know! It's because the pick is happy that Josh is making Twilight feel better!" Dash facehoofed as a response to the pink pony.
The lavender unicorn picked up the guitar pick with her magic and examined it. The Operator Symbol on it was releasing a red light. While the Mane Six huddled around Josh's pick, he decided to play his guitar without it. The newly discovered bearer picked up the axe and played the riff from Counterfeit by Limp Bizkit with no pick, the same way Wes Borland played it on the album. As he did, his pick glowed even brighter.
"Josh, you're strengthening your element!" exclaimed Twilight. Josh looked up at the pony while pressing down on his guitar strings to stop a sustain.
"How so?" the skateboarder questioned.
"Everything you're doing - playing the guitar, sharing your positive outlook on us saving the world, the skateboarding - it's all making your sense of freedom stronger!"
Josh nodded, signaling he understood what Twilight was talking about. It did make sense, after all.
"Yeah, yeah, I know what you're getting at, Twi," Josh acknowledged. "Every time I do something that gives a sense of freedom, my element gets more powerful. I guess, for example, that means Applejack's element gets stronger every time she tells the truth."
The cowpony nodded. "You're right, sugarcube," she responded.
Josh stood up. "Come on, girls. We have to find what caused this." The Mane Six followed him out of the destroyed amusement park.
What they didn't know is that they were being watched.
Author's Note
Okay, wow. I dragged that one out longer than I expected. Also, I'm glad this story has a positive like/dislike ratio. It's not by much, but still. Also, credit goes to RPG video games for the "element strengthening" idea.
As always, comments, compliments, and criticism is welcome.
-Jimmy-
As Celestia watched over the seven, an unnaturally evil grin formed on her face. Her body began warping and transforming. Her white coat turned black, her elegant mane and tail now a dark cerulean. Both were filled with holes.
Her wings became insectoid and her horn jagged. Fangs grew. Her eyes turned a sickly green color.
Queen Chrysalis laughed maniacally. "Now that those scum are headed towards Rome, I'll have them right where I want them. Once they enter the Colosseum, they'll fall right into my trap." The changeling queen opened the door to the dungeon and descended the stone steps.
There in the dungeon was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both restrained by changeling goo. Chrysalis looked at them and smirked.
The changeling queen walked over to the princess of the sun. "Soon, I'll have killed off every being in this universe, Celestia," she declared. "Your little Elements of Harmony can't save you now."
"My subjects are stronger than you could ever imagine, and Josh holds tremendous power," countered the princess. "When I break out of here, I will personally see to it that they rip off your horn and shove it up your-"
Celestia was interrupted by a hoof to the face from Chrysalis, the impact nearly breaking her jaw. The changeling queen began to choke the princess with her magic as Luna watched in horror.
"You are nothing anymore," Chrysalis growled. "I destroyed this world and all the other worlds the universe holds. When I get my hooves on the bearers, I will brutally torture them in front of your very eyes. In the meantime, you and your worthless sister will rot down here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to set up a roadblock to stop those pests from even making it across Long Island."
The changeling stomped up the dungeon steps, slamming the door behind her.
"Are Twilight and the others going to fix this, sister?" asked a frightened Luna.
Celestia lowered her head. "I hope so, Luna... I really hope so."
The seven element bearers arrived in Montauk, on the edge of Long Island. "Well, guys, this is the easternmost part of the States," informed Josh. "Well, except for Maine. But who gives a flying fuck?" The group walked through the hamlet as Twilight noticed the pro skater's change of clothes - he was now wearing a New York Jets jersey and blue jeans.
"Josh, why do you need to change clothes?" questioned the lavender pony. "Wouldn't it be simpler to wear one thing every day?"
The teenager chuckled. "It's not that simple, Twi," he answered. "Besides, this was the only other pair of my clothes that survived."
Suddenly, Josh fell to the ground, immediately scrambling to his feet. The guitar player looked around and saw nothing he thought was out of the ordinary. And by "ordinary," he meant leveled buildings and destroyed streets.
"Hey, what's that thing?" Pinkie's voice alerted the group, who turned towards where she was pointing. Lying there on top of the mangled railroad tracks, right where Josh tripped, was... a Mickey Mouse costume, like the ones at Disney World. Josh cocked an eyebrow in confusion. There was something strange about this costume.
It was photo-negative. You know, blue where it should be red, white where it should be black, that kind of stuff. The real question was...
"Who in their right mind would have a reverse-colored costume?" wondered Applejack out loud. Everypony shrugged. They began to continue towards the beach when they heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps. The seven turned around.
The Mickey costume - the photo-negative Mickey Mouse costume lying on the train tracks - was right there, standing in front of them.
This can't be real, Josh thought. This... this is just like a story my uncle used to tell me. It's a story! It can't be real!
The costume began to speak in a hushed, perverted, yet perfectly executed Mickey Mouse voice. "Hey, wanna see my head come off?"
Just like in the story Josh had been spooked by so many times as a kid, the costume ripped off its head, accompanied by a sickening tearing of flesh. The wound it left began to spout thick yellow blood. The seven couldn't help but to stare in shock, their hearts heavily beating.
"RUN!" screamed Dash, breaking the silence. "EVERYONE RUN!"
The seven began to flee, but abruptly stopped. Confused, they looked down. They were stuck in a strange green goo. The heavy footsteps returned, this time faster.
Fluttershy warned, "That living costume is coming for us!" The yellow pegasus tried to fly away, but was forced back down by the goo, slamming into Dash. In the midst of the panic, Josh raised his extended hand towards the sky. With a swirl of red energy, his guitar appeared in his hand.
He began to play Number of the Beast as a blood-red orb formed above him. Everypony stopped struggling and watched him as the lyrics of the song started.
"I left alone, my mind was blank, I needed time to think, to get the memories from my mind... What did I see? Can I believe?! That what I saw that night, was real and not just fantasy?"
The Mickey costume drew closer as Josh continued to play.
"Hurry, it's coming!" Rarity cried. A silence drew over the ponies, only Josh's guitar playing the riff.
Then, all of a sudden - "YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" As the pro skater let out a piercing scream, three intertwining beams launched from his guitar, straight at the Mickey costume. When they connected, the living costume was obliterated, body parts and yellow blood flying everywhere. As this was happening, the green goo vanished.
"Josh, that was incredible!" complimented Twilight. The teenager smirked as he slung his guitar over his shoulder. The seven walked up to the decapitated head of the costume and removed the Mickey Mouse mask.
What they saw was a pitch-black creature with fangs and insect-like eyes. In utter shock, Twilight broke her magic hold on the head, sending it falling to the cracked asphalt.
"What the hell is that thing?" questioned Josh. Twilight summoned a encyclopedia and flipped through it.
"It's a Humanoid Changeling," the unicorn explained. "They're normally shapeshifters, but sometimes they take the form of the true fears of the individuals they encounter." She looked at Josh. "Do you fear costumes or something?"
The skater shook his head. "Hell no! Of course, this story did freak me out as a kid. I guess that's why the changeling took the form of the costume, you know. Get under my skin."
"Either way, we have to get out of here," added Pinkie. "My senses are telling me there are more - lots more!" Surely enough, her tail was twitching. No one could question Pinkie Sense, so they continued towards Rome.
Author's Note
I feel this is the weakest chapter of the story so far, but I guess that's just me. Either way, I'm just glad I got a chapter in before I go away to Charlotte. For anybody going to BAP, have fun!
-Jimmy-
As the group began their trek across what was once the Atlantic Ocean, they couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. Pinkie Pie had said her sense was telling her there were many more changelings. You couldn't argue against Pinkie Sense, something they all knew. Especially Twilight.
"Hey, Twilight, it feels like we've been out here for days," commented Pinkie. "Why don't I feel hungry or tired?"
"That's a good question, Pinkie," the lavender pony replied. "You don't feel hungry or tired because since the time-space continuum was damaged, time doesn't move anymore. It's still 12:03 on December 21st, but we're frozen in time."
During this, Josh had been talking about his skateboarding career with the Mane Six. The teenager had explained every single competition, from neighborhood contests to the 2011 X Games. Eventually, Josh began talking about a few of his pro friends, such as Lizard King.
"I know who Lizard King is," interrupted Applejack. Everyone stopped walking across the former ocean and looked at the farmer with confused glances.
"That's impossible," Twilight responded. "There's no way you could know anything about human history after 1723. That's when the connection was broken."
"Um... I'm psychic." AJ's face scrunched and her eyes darted around, similar to how they did when she was corrupted by Discord. She was lying, and everyone knew it.
Rarity questioned, "Applejack, dear, is there something you aren't telling us?"
Defeated, the earth pony sighed. A white light began to take over her body as her form shifted into a humanoid configuration. Everyone looked in awe as the glow dimmed. Standing where AJ had been was a white human female, around nineteen years old. She wore a grey sleeveless shirt that exposed her midriff, slightly ripped blue jeans, and brown boots.
"Y'see, I, uh... was born human."
The group was shocked, to the point of Pinkie grabbing a glass of water from god-knows-where and performing a spit take.
"On earth, I am a human named AJ Sanders," she explained. "I was born on a farm in a city called Talladega like the rest of my family, but I moved to St. Louis when I was twelve. I've actually known Josh for quite some time, 'cause I'm a skateboarder, too. I pretended I didn't so no one would get suspicious."
Everyone was utterly shocked. Dash commented, "Applejack, I.. I don't know what to say..."
"I'm sorry I never told y'all."
Twilight walked over to the cowgirl. "There's no need to be sorry, Applejack," she answered. "I understand why you wanted to keep it a secret. It's okay."
Fluttershy chimed in, "Um... since Applejack revealed herself... I guess, maybe, I could, too." Fluttershy, like AJ just before, was enveloped by a while light, as she changed to a human form. Her hair reached all the way down to her mid-back. She wore a yellow hooded sweatshirt with black pants and yellow sneakers.
Josh couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, wow - two of you had been humans this whole time... who's next? Anypony... anypony got something to contribute?"
Suddenly, the group were blown back by a green wave of energy. After regrouping, they found the cause. A large swarm of changelings were standing in front of them, led by what appeared to be a gigantic mutant apple with arms and legs.
"That giant apple thing is known as Happy Appy," Josh stated. "It came from this old kid's show of the same name. It started out normal, but as it progressed, the thing essentially became a snuff film. I actually know this guy who researched-"
The bearer of freedom's rambling earned him a buck to the face, courtesy of one of the changelings.
"Okay, no more fuck-around time. Go after Ol' Death Stare over there, I got the changelings." Josh began to play the song Play With Me by Extreme on his guitar, unleashing a blood-red beam at the equine-like creatures. The changelings fought back, but were defeated by the sonic beam coming from the pro skater.
Meanwhile, the other six didn't have it so easy against Happy. The thing may have been a fruit, but it was a very strong one. Nothing, not even Twilight's magic, did anything significant.
The mutant apple spoke in a deep voice, "Wanna see a cool trick?" Happy held up his arm, revealing a hand grenade. Everyone's eyes widened. The living fruit activated the grenade and threw it at the group. Luckily, AJ kicked it back at Happy. The grenade exploded, sending the apple flying into Josh, who had defeated all but two of the changelings.
The teenager, angered, scrambled for his backpack with Happy in hot pursuit. Josh made it to the bag and pulled out a can of spray paint he had saved in the blast.
"Josh, what good is a can of spray paint going to do?" Rainbow Dash wondered out loud.
"You'll see."
Josh ran over to the mutant fruit and tackled him to the ground. He shook the can, proceeding to spray it into Happy's eyes. The apple screamed in agony as Josh ran back over to the backpack and grabbed his skateboard. The guitar player smashed the board in the mutant's face as apple juice flowed from Happy's body. Oh, look, his blood is apple juice. Clever.
He signaled for AJ to come over. When she did, he whispered something in her ear. The farmer nodded, and kicked Happy like Adam Vinatieri kicked a field goal. Thanks to Happy's light weight, he was flung into a dead coral reef, killing him.
"So, let me get this straight," Josh said to AJ, "I've known you for years, and you've been a pony this whole time?"
"Yep."
The pro skater shrugged. "Alright, then," he answered. "Come on, we have to keep going."
Celestia and Luna sat in the royal castle's dungeon, near completely encased by changeling goo. Every minute, the green substance seemed to get stronger.
For the first time, Celestia felt helpless. Chrysalis had sucked all the love out of Equestria when it was destroyed, making her and her army stronger than ever. There was no possible way they would escape from the dungeon.
Unless... they did something drastic.
Celestia spoke. "Luna, the only way we're going to get out of here is if we perform black magic. I know that it may corrupt us, but we can't save the bearers without doing this." She waited for a response, expecting her plan to be shot down.
"I understand, sister," responded the moon goddess. Celestia looked at her sister, surprised, but nodded.
A dark aura overcame the princesses' horns as they activated the spell. The aura began to infect the changeling goo. The more dark matter that entered, the more the goo dissolved. Eventually, Celestia and Luna were free.
The royal sisters quickly galloped up the stone stairs and busted the door open. Chrysalis was nowhere to be found. Confused, Celestia walked around the castle.
"Sister, I found something!" Luna's voice startled the sun princess. She flew over to where Luna was. She was holding a piece of paper with her magic. Celestia took the letter from Luna and took a good look at it.
The paper showed a map of the Earth city of Rome, Italy. A red circle was drawn around the Colosseum, with the words "LURE BEARERS HERE" in chicken scratch right next to it.
Celestia was angry. Not disappointed angry, not embarrassed angry, but actually angry angry. In a blind rage, she burned the map.
"Luna, we're going to Rome."
Author's Note
Well, it's good to be back. Charlotte was awesome. By the way, here are the songs that have been used in the story so far:
Jordan by Buckethead:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcg9JybEp8
Counterfeit by Limp Bizkit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AM1grVX6e4
Play With Me by Extreme:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVgdsw8NuXc
As always, feedback is appreciated.
-Jimmy-
In real time, it had been two weeks since the group left Long Island. Everyone was in a miserable mood, which wasn't helped by the shadowy clouds looming over the sky.
Finally, Josh couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed face-first onto the ground. However, his face wasn't covered in sand. No, he dropped onto dead grass that surrounded the area.
"We made it to France!" the pro skater happily cheered as he pulled himself up. "We're almost there!" Twilight spawned a map of Europe and looked it over.
She explained, "Italy borders France to the southeast. We're in Bordeaux, which is southwest. We basically just need to walk across the country to get to Italy." The unicorn rolled up the map and proceeded to walk forward. Before she could get anywhere, however, Twilight crashed into something.
Or somepony.
"You really ought to watch where you're going, Twilight," commented Celestia. Luna stood by her side. The lavender pony looked up to her mentor.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned. Everyone noticed Celestia slightly hang her head as she began to speak.
"Me and Luna followed you here to warn you that you've been tricked." The princess of the sun's statement shocked everyone. She continued, "Queen Chrysalis, the leader of the changelings, kidnapped us and posed as me to send you to Rome. She was the one that caused the meteors and nearly eliminated all life in the universe."
A range of emotions spread across the bearers. "Why in the hay would she do that?" demanded Applejack. Celestia looked at the cowgirl with confusion.
"Who, exactly, are you?" AJ frowned. She changed back to her pony form.
Luna questioned, "You're a hybrid?" The farmer nodded and changed back to her human form.
The moon princess' attention quickly turned to Josh. "Joshua, could you, perhaps, play your instrument for my sister and I?" The teenager smirked and nodded. Grabbing his guitar pick, Josh began to play Surfing With The Alien. By the time he finished, Celestia and Luna were stunned.
"Josh, that was... incredible," Celestia complimented. "I've never heard anything that wonderful-sounding in centuries. You truly have a gift." Josh felt honored, even more so than when he won gold at the X Games. Not only was his talent praised by a princess, but by a demigod. That had to count for something.
Josh responded, "Thank you so much, your majesty." His guitar disappeared in a swirl of red aura.
The princess laughed a bit. "You can call me Celestia, Josh. It's fine."
The two were interrupted by Rainbow Dash. "Hey, Princess, can you teleport us to this Rome place?" she asked. "It's taking a while."
The princess shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Rainbow. I still have to recharge from the dark magic I used to escape from Chrysalis. The spell wouldn't go that far." Dash groaned.
Josh stepped forward. "I could help you power the spell," the pro skater suggested.
Confused, the sun goddess turned her head toward him. "How would you do that?"
The teenager summoned his guitar back. "My idea is that while you're performing the spell, I play a complex riff," he proposed. "The guitar's power combines with your magic, amplifying the spell and sending us shooting to Rome at eighty-eight miles a second." Everyone looked at each other. To Applejack, it sounded as far-fetched as a scheme made up by the Eds.
Finally, Luna broke the silence. "Let's try it."
"I knew you guys - uh, girls - would come through. Alright, Sun Chips, let's do this." Celestia, slightly irritated by Josh's new nickname for her, began to perform the spell. Josh's guitar pick struck the strings as he played the riff to Beast and the Harlot. The instrument emanated a red beam, which mingled with Celestia's light gold magic aura, forming an orange portal.
"That was AWESOME! " shouted Pinkie. The nine traveled through the portal.
The gang's arrival in Rome wasn't exactly a pleasant one. The portal stopped ten feet above the Vatican ground. As such, they landed quite hard. Fortunately, falling from great heights was something they were all used to. Just ask Rarity.
"Well, that was rather unpleasent," commented the fashionista.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "You don't say."
Twilight summoned a map of the city. "The Colosseum is southeast from here. This way." The group followed the studious unicorn through the destroyed streets. After about a half-hour of travelling, they stood in the shadows of the Roman Colosseum - or, what was left of it.
The structure was already pretty much ruins, but after the meteors, only a fifth of the Colosseum was intact. The rest was a mess of stone.
"You girls ready?" Josh asked. Everyone nodded.
"Let's do this."
Author's Note
See? Celestia and Luna are doing something.
Surfing With the Alien:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoERl34Ld00
Beast and the Harlot:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fM3ylFs3hs
-Jimmy-
Josh walked between Celestia and Luna. The teenager turned his head to face the princess of the sun, then to the moon goddess. He then turned to face the rest of the group.
The pro skater spoke, "You all taught me something important. You taught me I needed to have faith. When I survived the meteors, I was just going to spend however long I had wandering around the streets of my city. When you came, I realized I at least needed to try to fix this."
Josh paused and took a deep breath.
"Thank you. Thank you all."
He gestured for the eight to follow him into the ruins. "Come on, everyone. Let's do this," he concluded. They walked into a dark, eerie hallway. As expected, green changeling goo coated the walls and ceiling.
There was a lot of tension in the gang, though none of it between each other. No, it was all directed toward Queen Chrysalis. Everyone hated the changeling leader with a burning passion, especially Celestia. Even the normally bubbly and happy Pinkie Pie was angry at her.
The dark hallway finally ended, but what the group saw was no better. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of changelings stood before them like a poison tidal wave, all of them ready to crash on the group. Above the army was Queen Chrysalis, who stood atop the Colosseum, glaring down at the nine.
"So, you decided to try to defeat me," she called. "Very foolish. Then again, what else would I expect from a bunch of lowly ponies and their human friend?"
Celestia retorted, "Listen, Chrysalis, we're kind enough to be giving you one final chance. Return the universe to the way it was right now, or we will attack." A long silence followed, both sides glaring at each other.
Suddenly, a loud wail broke the stalemate. The bloodcurdling noise came from Josh's guitar, which unleashed a sonic wave that killed about six changelings.
"ATTACK!" bellowed an enraged Chrysalis. The army of the shadowy creatures swarmed towards the group. Applejack and Pinkie charged forward and began to fight the changelings one on one. Celestia and Rainbow Dash flew up, Luna and Twilight began charging their magic, and Rarity set up a magic barrier to protect her and Fluttershy.
This left Josh, who began to play the song War Ensemble. As he did, a blood red beam shot from his guitar's headstock straight at Chrysalis. The changeling queen evaded the attack and fired her own, neon green aura. The counterattack forcefully struck the skater, blowing him into a wall. His guitar landed fifty feet from him, but he made no move to get it. Then again, he really couldn't after the blow he had suffered.
Celestia and Dash took on flying changelings. At first, they were doing well, knocking all the hole-filled beasts to their deaths. Soon, however, the army's sheer size took over, and the alicorn and pegasus were soon defeated. Celestia landed next to her little sister, who was filled with enough rage already. Seeing her sister in such an injured state, and knowing her worst enemy was behind it, pushed her over the edge. The moon pony's eyes shone white as she unleashed an overcharge of magic at Chrysalis.
The queen was alerted by the forceful aura sent in her direction. She created a protection spell over her army, stronger than any of the sort ever performed before. The magic overcharge launched directly at the group.
It connected.
The nine did all they could to stop the overcharged magic, but nothing worked. They were all forced back into the wall. The only one who didn't feel the full effect of the attack was Josh, who attemped to get up. Ultimately, though, the skater collapsed to his knees.
They lost.
Queen Chrysalis let loose a maniacal laugh. "I told you!" she gloated. "I told you, Celestia! By feeding off all the love in the universe, me and my army are unstoppable!" She looked down at the group as her army cornered them.
The gang felt a range of emotions - from sadness, to guilt, to just straight anger. Josh, especially. He had felt so confident in his success, and where did that lead? Failure.
The changeling queen began to speak again. "You have two choices. One, I imprison all of you forever and make my changelings the new master race. Two, I bring back humanity... and I make them all my slaves. Those are your only options. Choose."
No one could accept either. Sure, the second choice sounded better, but that meant they had to put their loved ones into a horrible dictatorship akin to Nazi Germany. For eternity. Definitely a worse fate than death.
Josh wasn't going to take it. He used all his strength to pull himself to his feet, charging towards his guitar. A swarm of changelings trailed him, but his spirit was stronger. He made it to his guitar and began to play Fury of the Storm, hoping that something - anything - would go right. He desperately sung the lyrics.
"We are riding for the battlefield in force tonight, fury of the darkest evil cry for war. Far beyond the boundaries of hell and starlight, on the road to lands unknown forever more."
The skateboarder continued to perform the song, completely oblivious to the fact the changelings were creeping up on him. Chrysalis smirked, happy the teenager was about to be killed.
How wrong she was.
The body of the guitar began to glow red, slowly going up to the headstock. Eventually, the drums, bass, rhythm guitar, and keyboards joined in. Confused, Josh turned his head towards the group. Six of his new friends were playing the song along with him, changed to human forms by Celestia - AJ and Pinkie on rhythm guitar, Twilight on drums, Dash and Rarity on bass, and Fluttershy on keyboards. They had all been healed by the power of Josh's guitar. Similar to said guitar, all of their instruments had an aura, as well. It took the skater a few seconds, but he realized what the aura meant.
They were activating the Elements of Harmony!
Now worrying, Chrysalis ordered her troops to attack the seven. Just as the changeling army closed in, the seven instruments' auras joined together and shot a pure white beam into the sky that pierced the heavens. While the solo echoed through Rome, the clouds began to clear, liberating the blue sky. The wreckage began to fix itself, and eventually, people were brought back to life. Chrysalis was in horror.
The city's people, remembering what had happened, ran towards the Colosseum. When they saw the group fighting - and beating - Chrysalis, they began to celebrate, cheering and headbanging. Josh sang the final chorus with the rest of the group;
"Into the fires of forever, we will fly through the heavens! With the power of the universe, we stand strong together! Into the fires of forever, we will fly through the heavens! With the power of the universe, we stand strong together! Through the forces of power, it will soon reach the hour! For victory we ride, fury of the storm! For victory we ride, FURY OF THE STORM!"
The song ended with a forceful dun dun dun DUUUN! The white pillar of energy fired towards Queen Chrysalis, annihilating her army and sending her flying out of the galaxy. The crowd cheered and clapped for the group. Josh was lost in the limelight for a moment, but when he remembered what had happened, he ran to his new friends and hugged them.
"WE DID IT!!!" he cheered. "WE FUCKING DID IT!!!"
The nine celebrated amongst themselves for a little bit, then turned to face the Roman citizens. They waved to the crowd, and Josh raised his guitar and formed a devil horn gesture.
Crisis... reverted.
The very next day, there was a ceremony at the United Nations in New York City, Josh's home, to honor the nine. The skateboarder was wearing the most formal thing he could find - a Jets polo and khakis. He was walking around the building's lobby, thinking of the group's victory in Rome.
"Josh! JOOOSH!" He heard a teenager's voice.
Josh turned around to see - guess who? - Tim Carpenter. His friend ran up to him and offered a brohoof. The pro skater accepted it. "Guess you were right, huh?" remarked Josh.
Tim chuckled. "Guess so."
"Yo, Tim, sorry I didn't believe you."
Tim shrugged it off. "Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. Nobody does." While they talked, Twilight walked over in her human form with Spike walking next to her, also a human. You would have never guessed the guy had been mangled. Twilight seemed much happier, as well. Enthusiastic.
Josh introduced, "Hey, guys. This is my friend Tim Carpenter."
"Nice to meet you, Tim," said Twilight.
Their conversation was interrupted by Princess Celestia. "Josh, Twilight, Spike. We're up," informed the sun goddess. Josh's eyes met Twilight's, and they both smiled at each other.
"Let's go," insisted the guitar player. The three walked out the doors into the brisk Manhattan air. Thousands of New Yorkers made up the crowd. Josh recognized a few of them. The mob of people applauded. Some cheered. Spike gleefully waved to the crowd, getting a small chuckle out of Twilight.
The pro skater turned his head to see the other six. All of them were in their human forms. The United States delegate took the microphone.
He began, speaking in a slight Oregonian accent, "We are gathered here today to honor nine heroes who put themselves in the face of danger, and at the same time re-opening our connection with the country of Equestria. They saved our home world from certain destruction, as well as many others. The nine heroes were led by New York's own Josh Larson. Here he is." The delegate finished his speech and handed the microphone over to Josh.
You know how most people have a fear of public speaking? Josh didn't. "I now realize, after going through this expierence, how little time we have in this world and how quickly it can all be taken away. As a civilization, we've accomplished great things, but we also have a history of hate and war. Thanks to my new friends..." Josh glanced at the gang and smiled. "...I now hope that we, the human race, can learn from this and use our technology and knowledge for not great, but amazing things. I also hope we can do this all together. We only have one chance in this world... so let's make it count."
The crowd roared with applause, even larger than in Rome. Josh walked over to his friends.
"You know, I think that, since we're apparently all awesome at playing music, we should form some kind of supergroup," suggested the pro skater. Everyone looked at each other.
"Great idea, sugarcube," concluded AJ.
Fluttershy asked, "What should we call it, though?"
Josh thought about the name for a bit. "How about... The Legacy Armada?"
"Awesome!" agreed Dash. "That sounds epic!"
The nine turned back towards the crowd. Josh felt accomplished - and for good reason. He had just saved the entire universe from destruction. Of course, he hadn't done it alone. He did it all with the magic of friendship.
Long live the Armada.
THE END
Author's Note
Dun dun dun DUUUN! And so ends Element Seven. If you wanna see the wacky antics the Armada gets up to after forming, don't fret! Josh and company will be in more stories, so keep an eye out!
War Ensemble:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2e47wBWTV8
Fury of the Storm:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i7qZxICwgQ
Thanks for reading!
-Jimmy-
