In Youth Eternal - A Dark Secret

Chapter 19: Finale

A large, and very powerful explosion rocked Canterlot Castle at its very foundation. The blast was visible from outside the castle, leaving a large, gaping hole in its structure. Smoke swirled into the atmosphere as a fire burned around the damaged area.

In the epicenter, Princess Celestia stood tall, unharmed by the explosion. Her sleek alicorn body was indeed very durable. The restroom, and most of the corridor it was connected to, had been absolutely wrecked. The wall she was closest to was all but gone, revealing a view to the outside.

It was a only a few meter drop to the roof of another (albeit relatively low) part of the castle. There were also a few towers that rose well above where the restroom was. Beyond that, was the entrance courtyard. Princess Celestia had a rather clear view of it, despite the rain. It was then that the form of a lavender unicorn caught her eye.

Twilight Sparkle, although scared, had managed to teleport herself out of harms way in time, traveling to the castle’s courtyard. Although, her chest had a painful scorch mark. Princess Celestia’s attack had all but merely grazed her chest before she finally teleported. She was lucky to have avoided most of the blast.

The lavender unicorn had to take a moment. That simple graze had still done some damage, causing a sharp, burning pain. For the moment, Twilight focused her healing spell on the scorch mark. Fortunately for her, the rest of her wounds were doing nicely, thanks to the time she bought by hiding.

Unfortunately for her, though, she wouldn’t have time to heal the scorch mark. All Twilight had time to do was relieve most of the pain, as a burst of light erupted from thin air before her. She flinched back reflexively, covering her eyes with a hoof.

“You won’t get away, Twilight Sparkle,” a voice spoke. Twilight lowered her hoof to find Princess Celestia standing ominously over her. Her cold, sinister eyes piercing the very foundations of her soul. The sight sent shivers down the mare’s spine.

It then occurred to the mare, that no matter what, she had to stay alive. With that, she shook her head to properly regain her thoughts. She quickly jumped back to widen the distance between them. Twilight glared at Princess Celestia, scuffing the wet ground with a hoof.

“You’re kidding... You’re kidding, right?” Celestia deadpanned, admittedly surprised at Twilight’s fierce determination, despite being outmatched on all levels. “You know, I won’t be going easy on you this time,” she stated coldly.

Twilight would not humor Celestia with a response though. Instead, the mare maintained her glare, ready for a fierce showdown.

Princess Celestia merely narrowed her eyes at the lavender unicorn. The regal alicorn was highly displeased with her protege’s unwillingness to cooperate. With that, she would once again have to take Twilight by force. “Alright, my little pony,” she deadpanned. “You asked for it...”

*     *     *

“Did you hear that?” inquired a cyan pegasus pony.

“Rainbow Dash, Ah felt that,” replied the orange earth pony.

“It sounded like an explosion!” shouted Rainbow Dash, throwing her hooves into the air. “You think it might have something to do with Twilight?”

“Probably. We ought ta’ check it out,” said Applejack. “Ah think it came from over here.” The earth pony pointed a hoof down a nearby corridor. She quickly took off down the large hallway, with Rainbow Dash gliding closely behind her.

A few more twists and turns later, and the pair of ponies found themselves staring down a corridor that looked like a hurricane had been through there. From where they were currently standing, the damage wasn’t significant. However, further down, they could see the damage was greatest where a huge chunk of wall was missing.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned to each other and nodded before quickly approaching the damage zone. The pair peeked around the newly formed corner into the what was once the restroom. Although, in its current state, it would be difficult to infer that.

“What in the hay happened here?” asked Rainbow Dash, rhetorically. Naturally, Applejack wouldn’t actually know. She only knew as much as Rainbow Dash.

“Ah dunno, Rainbow,” the orange earth pony replied. All she knew, all they both knew, is that this was the sight of the explosion they heard. There was no other explanation for the copious amounts of damage. The pair promptly entered the room (or rather, what was left of it) to investigate.

“What do you think this room was before?” inquired the cyan pegasus, trying to make heads or tails of the wreckage.

Applejack thought for a moment, as she cleared various pieces of rubble on the floor. Eventually, the orange mare found what looked like a beat up toilet bowl. “A toilet?” she said, rather surprised at what she had found.

“Wait, you mean this is a bathroom? What the hay was an explosion doing in a bathroom? Did all the toilets get clogged at the same time or something?” Rainbow Dash asked, beginning to crack up a little at the thought of exploding toilets. It would make for a wonderful prank.

“Ah guess so,” Applejack replied, arching a brow.

It was then that the two of them heard what sounded like a pair of hoofsteps coming their way. Applejack and Rainbow Dash glanced at one another before assuming defensive stances, just in case it was the guards. They were ready to fight for their lives if need be.

Before long, a familiar white unicorn, adorned with a well groomed purple mane poked her head into the devastated area. Her eyes widened with shock and nearly fainted at the ghastly sight.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack sighed with relief at the sight of their familiar friend Rarity. The two of them couldn’t help but smile as Rarity came into full view with Spike on her back, followed by Fluttershy. So far so good, everypony was safe, except for...

“Pinkie Pie!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “Is she still out there?”

“I can’t say, Rainbow Dash. I do hope the darling is alright though,” replied Rarity, concerned for their pink friend as well.

Before long, the group of friends made their way towards the huge gap where a wall used to be. What was immediately obvious was the fact that it lead outside. It was a very short drop onto the a roof. However, something very important caught their eyes. In the entrance courtyard, the group spied a lavender mare, facing down a certain regal alicorn.

“Twi? What’s she doin’ out there with Celestia?” asked Applejack.

“Maybe she didn’t want to go through with it after all,” said Spike, rubbing his chin.

“HALT!!!” a very loud, stern voice cried out.

Everypony jumped, with Spike barely hanging onto Rarity. It was as if somepony had spoken into an amplifier at the max volume. Upon turning around, the group of friends noticed none other than Princess Luna, followed by many royal guards, had gathered behind them.

“Art thou responsible for this collateral damage!?” Luna inquired, taking a step forward. She still raised her voice. Although, the dark alicorn was no longer using the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Applejack stepped forward, visibly nervous before the Princess of the Night. “Uh...Well....Ya see...” she began, struggling to find the words to explain.

“SPEAK!!!” yelled Luna, once more in the Royal Canterlot Voice. The dark blue alicorn narrowed her eyes. Indeed, she was curious as to whether or not they were responsible, but planned on how she was to dispose of them once they answered. Princess Luna had not forgotten their last encounter.

The force from Luna’s Canterlot Voice surprised Applejack. The mare, eyes widened, brought a hoof up to her stetson hat and adjusted it on her head, as it had fallen lopsided.

“Look, we didn’t do it! We don’t know who did it!” said Rainbow Dash, annoyed at this confrontation.

Luna paused for a moment. “I see.”

Silence ensued between the group as tension rose. Spike and the Mane 4 hadn’t forgotten about their last encounter with Luna either.

It was then, that another explosion shattered the tense silence that lingered in the air. The group of friends turned around, peering into the courtyard. It was there, that they saw a smoldering crater near Twilight. Princess Celestia’s horn was glowing. It was simple for the group to put two and two together.

“What are you all looking at!?” barked Princess Luna. The alicorn shoved her way past everypony and looked out into the courtyard. Naturally, she saw the same thing that Spike and the Mane 4 had.

Luna said nothing as she turned and trotted back over the many guards who accompanied her. The Captain was not present. However, his second-in-command, Wind Rider, was among them. Princess Luna lowered her to whisper something in the armored pegasus’ ear.

With that, the Princess of the Night turned her head, glaring at the Mane 4 and the baby dragon before vanishing in a burst of dark blue light. Considering that Princess Luna was on Celestia’s side, the group of friends feared the worst as they all turned to view the courtyard once more.

A dark blue light flashed near Princess Celestia, revealing Luna standing next to Celestia. Twilight, visibly afraid, slowly back up. Against Celestia alone, Twilight stood little chance at all. Against both of the Royal Sisters, however, she was as good as dead.

“Oh crap!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “Come on! We gotta go help-”

“Not so fast!” interrupted Wind Rider, stepping forward to confront the group of friends. “You lot are coming with us.” He wore a serious scowl on his visage, similar to that of Strong Wing. Although, he was not quite as intimidating, being a smaller pegasus and all.

“No way, pal!’ yelled Rainbow Dash, pointing a hoof at Wind Rider. She practically growled at him.

“You stupid mare!” Wind Rider growled right back.

Applejack rolled er eyes, having had enough of this. “C’mon!” she yelled, leaping onto the roof outside. Her hat and fur quickly got wet from the rain, but that didn’t bother the determined earth pony. The roof was slanted downwards somewhat. Applejack allowed herself to slide down the roof towards the sight of the battle. ‘Ah’m comin’ Twilight!’

The rest of the Mane 4 turned to face the guards, smiling sheepishly before taking off after Applejack. This made Wind Rider furious. He gritted his teeth as they disappeared onto the roof.

“After them!!” he barked, pointing a hoof. Various pegasus and unicorn guards immediately took off after the fleeing fugitives, giving chase. Once outside, the pegasi took to the skies while the unicorns, naturally, kept to the rooftop.

Meanwhile, Applejack had reached the end of the roof. It was quite was fairly long drop down to the ground, but nothing an earth pony as strong as Applejack couldn’t handle. The orange mare slid right off the edge with a confident grin “Yeehaw!” she chimed with excitement, as an adrenaline rush took charge. The excitement was almost euphoric.

As she dropped, Rainbow Dash zoomed on over head straight towards the confrontation between Twilight and the Royal Sisters.

Fluttershy glided after her. Although not as fast as Rainbow Dash, there was a crisis on their hooves, causing the kind pegasus to fly relatively quickly.

Moments passed before Applejack finally reached the ground below. It was a cobblestone sidewalk. The earth pony bent her legs as all hour hooves slammed into the ground to absorb some of the shock. The cobblestone cracked a little from the impact, but Applejack was unharmed and ready to go. With that, she took off full gallop behind Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

Behind them, Rarity, with Spike on her back, had also slipped off the edge as well. The  white unicorn cringed upon seeing the distance she had to fall to reach the ground. she was unsure of herself, unsure if she could land without injury. And then, it occurred to her that she had a special little passenger on her back. Rarity had to focus to keep them both safe.

The horn on Rarity’s forehead lit up with a light blue aura. The aura expanded, encasing both her and Spike. The mare managed to slow their descent and land safely on the cobblestone sidewalk below. Rarity, with determination in her eyes, took off full galop as well, following Applejack’s example.

In hot pursuit, the royal guard continued to give chase. The armored pegasi zoomed after Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, while the armored unicorns performed the same feat as Rarity, using their magic to soften their landings on the cobblestone walkways.

Zipping into the air, overseeing the chase, was Wind Rider. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth upon seeing his soldiers failing to catch up to the targets in time. The Mane 4 had almost reached the Princesses, who were dealing with their fugitive cohort.

Rainbow Dash blazed forth, her speed picking up. The mare didn’t have enough time to perform a Sonic Rainboom, but she already had mach cone around her, indicating great speed already.

For Princess Celestia, it seemed to strike out of nowhere. The cyan pegasus slammed into Celestia’s barrer with both front hooves outstretched. She would try to force her way through, but to no avail. The strong shield repelled Rainbow Dash, causing her to be knocked back. She narrowly missed hitting Fluttershy, who swooped over to catch her, preventing a rough landing.

“Thanks, Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash affectionately. Fluttershy smiled and nodded in response.

“Well well. It looks like I will definitely need to have a little word with Captain Strong Wing when this is all over,” muttered Celestia under her breath as she looked over at the deflected Rainbow Dash. The alicorn narrowed her eyes. As it turns out for the Princess of the Sun, the Captain’s promise to not kill them has come back to bite her in the flank.

Twilight on the other hoof, dropped her jaw at the sight of her friends. In the short distance, she could see Applejack on the approach, with Spike and Rarity in tow. But behind them, in hot pursuit, was the Royal Guard.

Before long, the rest of the Mane 4 arrived, stopping a short distance away from the two sisters and Twilight. The only pony still missing was Pinkie Pie.

Normally, she would go greet her friends with a heartwarming hug or two. This time, instead, Twilight took her chance, now that Princess Celestia was distracted. Twilight had an idea.

She had previously observed that Princess Celestia’s barrier was shaped like a bubble, leaving space inside the barrier. This was a fatal weakness of non skin-tight barriers against who can teleport. With that, Twilight Sparkle put her simple strategy into action.

With a flash of light, the unicorn had vanished. Princess Celestia perked up upon noticing a flash of light appear from directly underneath of her, from between her tall, sleek legs. Twilight Sparkle had teleported inside Princess Celestia’s protective shield, appearing in a crouched position to allow her to comfortably in that spot.

The alicorn’s eyes went wide as Twilight’s horn created the sharp pointed, lance-like aura much like she had back in the castle. And with that, Twilight thrusted her horn up to run Celestia through once and for all. But not before she was blinded by a burst of light.

The unicorn rubbed her eyes with her hooves to regain use of her sight. Once she could see again, she quickly took note that Princess Celestia was no longer standing directly over her. Instead, the regal alicorn stood several meters away, facing her. Twilight became frustrated at this, her best shot at defeating Celestia foiled. The mare gritted her teeth.

As all the happened, the Royal guards surrounded and formed a perimeter around the sight of the battle. Many more guards arrived on short notice, forming several layers around the perimeter. Princess Celestia glanced around, with a sinister smirk adorning her visage.

“Well well. What will you do now, Twilight Sparkle?” mocked Princess Celestia. Twilight was in a tight spot. Her friends may have arrived, but the lavender unicorn was still uncertain if that would be enough.

Wind Rider quickly swooped in, hovering over the area. “We have you surrounded! Surrender immediately or die!” he barked at the Mane 5. As much as it pleased Princess Celestia to know her loyal guards were always willing to help her, she simply rolled her eyes. She was actually rather tired of the Royal Guard’s attempts. She hadn’t had this much fun in centuries, while the Royal Guard had already proven inept at capturing the wielders Elements of Harmony.

“NO!” Celestia’s voice boomed, in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Stand back! All of you! I will not have any interference. You all have proven incapable of capturing them. I will do it myself!” the alicon ranted, anger burning in her eyes.

Wind Rider was speechless as he winced from Princess Celestia’s harshness. But regardless, he decided to comply, signalling the Royal Guard to back down. They all backed away, giving the Princesses and the fugitives much more space.

“Luna, restrain them!” ordered the sinister alicorn, turning her head to face her sister. Luna replied with a nod before a dark blue aura surrounded her horn. With that, Spike and the Mane 4 found themselves bound in the air, floating helplessly.

A chuckle passed Princess Celestia’s lips, turning back towards Twilight. “It is just you and me, my little pony,” she said with an eerie calmness, staring directly into Twilight’s fearful little eyes.

Her heart suddenly felt heavy. Her friends were restrained and unable to do anything. The lavender unicorn, once more, had to face Princess Celestia alone. She felt helpless. She felt the weight of Princess Celestia’s power pressing on her shoulders as she stood before the regal alicorn. Her power was nothing next to the Princess of the Sun. Twilight shut her eyes hard, trembling. It was then, that a voice called out.

“Come on Twilight! Kick her butt!” cheered Rainbow Dash.

Twilight glanced towards her best friends, who all began to cheer her on.

“Darling! Please! You must win! YOU MUST!!” exclaimed Rarity, dramatic as usual.

“You can do it Twi!” Applejack yelled.

“You rock! Woohoo!” said Fluttershy. Her voice was still rather quiet. But it was a cheer none the less.

“I believe in you!” Spike chimed, cheering on his closest friend.

It was now or never. With her own life and her friends at stake, Twilight Sparkle managed to strengthen her resolve. “Thanks guys...” she said under her breath, smiling; a tear running down her cheek.

‘Now, I really need a spell that can help me out against a stronger opponent...’ thought Twilight. She would take anything that could grant her an advantage, given that Princess Celestia was much more powerful than her. Twilight quickly searched her memories of her spells, trying to think of which one (or ones) could help. Fortunately, Twilight thought of one that may help out a lot. She had read about it in a spell book about ocular enhancements once.

The first thing she did was feed magic into her eyes, utilizing a spell to help her ‘see’ magic better than the naked eye. It was a type of magic sensory spell. The mare had to find a weakness in Princess Celestia’s barrier. This spell could enable Twilight to see it.

The sclera of Twilight Sparkle’s eyes were suddenly flooded with a purple hue. It was then that Twilight could see Princess Celestia’s barrier. ‘Ugh. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’  the mare scolded herself in thought. ‘This could have saved me a lot of trouble...’

It was then that she saw a large mass of magic gather at the tip of the alicorn’s horn. Twilight could see what would be otherwise be an invisible flow of magic energy. It allowed the lavender unicorn to gauge how much power was being devoted to the spell. But something else caught the mare’s eye.

As more power was devoted to charging her attack, Twilight could see Princess Celestia’s barrier weakening. The realization hit the mare like a brick. Offensive spells, such as the powerful blasts of magic Celestia likes to throw around, and strong defensive spells are far more taxing than regular spells. In order to properly feed enough power into her attack, the alicorn had to take away from maintaining her barrier. An Offense-Defense trade off.

Twilight scolded herself again for not realizing it sooner, as even she already knew how exhausting offensive and defensive spells can be. It’s mostly why the mare tends to stick with simpler offensive spells, such as relatively weak bolts of magic, or condensing and shaping the aura of her horn into a weapon-like state.

Twilight’s eyes were locked onto Princess Celestia. Seeing the flow of magic, she was able to determine the moment when Celestia would release her attack. Twilight spread her hooves out and crouched a little, ready to move at a moment’s notice. ‘Aaaand... Now!’

Princess Celestia pointed her horn and released the mass of built up magic. A large golden blast erupted forth, tearing up the ground as it sped towards the intended target.

However, Twilight timed herself just right, darting out of the way as soon as the attack was launched. The mare kept her eyes on Princess Celestia. Her attack had not yet subsided. During the the moments it was maintained, Twilight noticed there was no barrier around her former mentor. Princess Celestia had to drop her barrier altogether in order launch her attack.

Some of the Royal Guards frantically scurried out of the way of the oncoming blast. Those who didn’t make, were practically vaporized. The golden beam of light continued until it struck Canterlot Castle itself.

A violent explosion ripped through the castle, taking a very noticeable chunk away. Debris of all sorts flew away from the epicenter of the violent explosion. At least 20% of the castle had been obliterated.

Princess Celestia and Luna winced a little. “Hm. It seems I overdid it a little.” said Celestia sheepishly, receiving a glare from Luna.

“Sister, please try to not hit the castle!” scolded Princess Luna. It was never cheap to have something like the royal castle repaired. Especially from that much damage.

"Haha! Sorry, Luna. I just haven't had this much fun in ages." Princess Celestia chuckled. However, the alicorn knew her sister's concerns were valid. She decided on trying a little change in strategy.  A quick flick of magic sparked from her horn as a bolt of magic, almost faster than the eye can see, launched itself at Twilight. However, the lavender mare was gone with a flash of light just before it struck her, only to reappear several hooves from her initial spot.

 Having missed the target, the bolt of magic struck the ground behind where Twilight once stood, creating a small, yet highly potent explosion, leaving behind a smoldering crater large enough to bury a pony in.

Princess Celestia arched a brow at Twilight’s suddenly enhanced reflexes. Normally, she shouldn’t have been able to react so effectively. The regal alicorn narrowed her eyes at Twilight Sparkle, before suddenly noticing what had changed.

By looking into Twilight’s eyes, Celestia finally noticed the strong purple tint to the unicorn’s sclera. She immediately recognized it as the Magic Ocular Enhancement Charm, something Star Swirl the Bearded had developed. Princess Celestia knew exactly what that meant; that Twilight would know about her weakness. The white alicorn knew she had to stick with less taxing offensive spells to allow herself to maintain the barrier.

A smirk crossed her visage as her sharp horn lit up once more. The regal alicorn conjured several energy spears at her side. One by one in rapid succession, they bolted towards the lavender mare.

Twilight Sparkle could see that Celestia’s barrier had only weakened somewhat with that attack. But regardless, Twilight was going to need to push Princess Celestia into using something more taxing.

With a confident smirk, Twilight’s horn emitted several small bursts of magic. For each little burst from her horn, another would appear directly in the path of each of Celestia’s magic spears, knocking them off course. the lavender unicorn didn’t need to move, as each spear harmlessly missed her. Indeed, the ability to read Princess Celestia’s magic power helped increase her chances greatly.

And yet, Princess Celestia smirked. It was very off putting to the mare. Without warning, over a dozen energy spears had materialized, surrounding Twilight. Without hesitation, the spears all closed in on Twilight Sparkle. With a flash of light, Twilight teleported several away from where she just stood, allowing the spears to miss harmlessly. Princess Celestia was irritated at Twilight’s mundane, yet successful methods of avoiding harm.

The two enemies glared towards one another. Princess Celestia would love nothing more than to simply restrain Twilight and break her legs, although such a tactic would be moot. Twilight’s could show her a way to escape based on the flow of magic energy. A weak spot of sorts with the levitation spell.

But that’s when she had another idea. Although, that Princess Celestia would need to act fast in order to pull it off.

The alicorn’s horn unleashed a sudden, but powerful bolt of magic, aimed for the ground. The cobblestone area exploded, and for just enough time, it sent all sorts of dust and debris into the air, blocking Twilight’s view of her. Twilight flinched some, bringing up a hoof to shield her eyes from any dust or debris. That was all she needed. With that, Princess Celestia was gone in a flash.

The sinister Princess of the had reappeared behind Twilight, smirking confidently. Twilight on the other hoof, looked around frantically. Under normal circumstances, the flow and pattern of Celestia’s magic power would have given away where and how far she was going to Teleport to Twilight’s eyes, but not if her vision was blocked.

Princess Celestia raised a back leg, bucking Twilight with bone shattering force. Being an alicorn, she could hit harder than even Applejack. There was a sudden plethora of gasps from the onlookers.

“Twilight!!” yelled Spike and the Mane 4 in concern, still restrained by Luna, who smirked upon watching Twilight fall to the ground. It was heart wrenching for them, not being able to do anything but watch. That one rough blow was all Princess Celestia needed to gain the upperhoof.

The lavender unicorn heard something snap as she was flung onto the ground. She could feel a very sharp pain in her ribs. The yelped in agony, holding her rib cage with her hooves. She had at least fractured some of her ribs from Celestia’s kick. Due to the pain, she lost almost all concentration. The Magic Ocular Enhancement Charm wore off, leaving her eyes in their regular state.

“Game over, Twilight Sparkle,” mocked Celestia, turning around to face the incapacitated mare. A spine chilling chuckle escaped her lips once more.

“Now,” she began, shifting her head to glance at her sister. “Kill them,” ordered Celestia. Princess Luna smirked and nodded.

Without warning, the bodies of Spike and the Mane 4 were slammed into the ground, forcing them to lay there, defensless. Dark blue spears of energy materialized over each captive.

“Nooo!” pleaded Twilight, unable to do anything but watch. Tears began flowing freely down her cheeks. “PLEASE DON’T KILL THEM!!” she pleaded loudly, her voice frantic and afraid. She reached a hoof out to her friends in desperation.

“Sorry, Twilight Sparkle. But it must be done,” said Princess Luna.

‘No...’spoke her inner thoughts. The mare closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. She couldn’t watch. Despair flooded her heart at that moment. ‘I... I need more power! I need to save them!!” she thought frantically. It would take a miracle at this point. And then, one happened.

A boom echoed throughout the courtyard. Follow that, an excited, bubbly yell could be heard in the distance, quickly getting louder. “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” it yelled. A pink projectile streaked through the air like a bullet. Everypony in the area looked towards the source of the sound in confusion.

Pinkie Pie had launched herself from her Party Cannon from the destroyed restroom.

Princess Luna in particular widened her eyes as Pinkie Pie, whose hooves were outstretched, was heading straight for her. Her mind became flustered at the sudden random event. But it was too late to do anything. Pinkie Pie struck Princess Luna in the side. An audible crack could be heard, indicating severe injury. The Princess of the Night fell onto her side, writhing in pain. Any magic of hers was quickly dispeled.

Pinkie Pie stood up from on top of Princess Luna. Adorning her visage was her usual little smile. She stepped off the incapacitated alicorn, turning her head to look at her.

“Thanks for breaking my fall, Luna!” she chimed. Afterwards, she immediately darted over to the injured Twilight. As she did so, Spike and the Mane 4 stood up, and quickly following Pinkie over to Twilight.

“Pinkie... Pie?” she said, struggling with the pain of her injuries. The mare shifted her eyes to see Pinkie Pie, followed shortly by the rest of her friends, standing over her. Tears of happiness now flowed from her eyes.

“We’re all here Twilight!” the pink earth pony chimed, bouncing up and down.

“So, where were you?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie took a deep, exaggerated breath. “Weeell, after a big epic battle against the Captain I found myself in the infirmary where the Captain took and he explained something about being so moved by me that he thought reeeaaaally hard about everything and decided to help me out so he showed me where to find these!” she explained in one run on sentence.

Pinkie Pie pulled a bag out of seemingly nowhere before opening it up, and pulling out 5 golden necklaces, and a golden tiara. They gasped in a delighted surprise.

“The Elements of Harmony!” said Rarity, quickly putting hers on. The rest of the Mane cast put theirs on, with Pinkie Pie resting Twilight’s element snug on her head for her.

Princess Celestia’s jaw dropped. “WHAT!? Where did you find those!?” she furiously inquired. “I had those hidden away!” The alicorn gritted her teeth as rage burned in her eyes. The Mane 6 now possessed the most power artifacts in Equestria.

Nopony answered her question as they all smirked at her in confidence. In an uncharacteristic fit of rage, Princess’s horn lit up, very quickly and violently gathering magic energy at the tip. The majestic alicorn reared her head before thrusting it forth, releasing the gathered energy in an attempt to slay the Mane 6.

However, something stopped the blast dead in its tracks, when moments before it was tearing through the ground like a hot knife through butter. Within moments, her attack had harmlessly dispersed; particles of magic lingering in the air as they floated away harmlessly.

Princess Celestia’s eyes widened, dumbstruck at what she witnessed. The Mane 6 hovered in formation, with a fully healed Twilight Sparkle in the center.

Twilight could feel vast amounts of raw power flowing through her. She felt as if she had a limitless supply. She was able to feed so much power into the healing spell, that it very quickly regenerated her wounds. With a quick flick of magic, Princess Luna was teleported, resting next to her sister, still injured.

Princess Celestia glanced down at her injured sister before returning her fearful gaze towards the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. “Nooo! NOOOOOO!!!” she yelled, with hints of both anger and fear in her voice.

Princess Celestia couldn’t believe. She had lost. Her thoughts raced. Her very life flashed before her eyes as the Mane 6 began glowing as bright as ever; their eyes whited out by the mystic power that flowed through them.

With that, a large, powerful Rainbow emerged from the glowing Mane 6, swirling through the air before turning its sights on the two royal sisters.

The blast didn’t even hit, and yet she could feel the weight of its power on her shoulders. Her body locked up, as if the power of the Elements of Harmony kept her from doing anything. Her fearful eyes looked on at the on coming Rainbow. It was bright. Princess Celestia had finally managed to let out one more yell.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!” her Royal Canterlot Voice echoed as she and Princess Luna were engulfed in the massive Rainbow. The sound of her voice stopped as a bright light, almost as bright as the sun, filled the entire courtyard.

After several moments, the Rainbow blast subsided, and the glow surrounded the Mane 6 vanished. Standing tall, in a frightened position, was a statue of Princess Celestia, with one of Princess Luna, in her injured position, right next to her.

The Royal Guards all looked on in complete shock. Their jaws hung in complete silence as they watched Twilight Sparkle slowly approach the statues of the Royal Sisters.

Twilight levitated herself up to Princess Celestia’s level, looking her statue right in the eyes. “Now, Princess. Now you have your immortality, trapped in that statue.” she spat, glaring at the former Princess. The lavender unicorn knew Princess Celestia could hear her, which gave her a sort of satisfaction.

A terrible, yet well deserved irony had struck Princess Celestia. She wanted immortality, and now she had it, encased in stone.

With the Royal Sisters trapped in their stone prisons, the Mane 6, with Spike, shared a heartwarming and tearful group hug. It was over.

It was all finally over.