//------------------------------// // The Coming Storm - Part 1 // Story: MLP: The Fight for Friendship // by sapiking //------------------------------// “Twilight… Twilight!” “Hmm…?” The lavender mare was shaken from her reverie at the sound of her name being called out enthusiastically by a familiar voice. She turned her head away from the magnificent view of Canterlot city where she had been spending the better part of the week at. Just in time to catch the sight of a pink-hued pony bouncing her way past Twilight’s bedroom to join her outside on the balcony where Twilight was just gazing out into the city. “Well, there you are Twilight! We’ve been looking all over the place for you! You’re missing out on the Canterlot Garden celebrations! Just what are you doing up here all by yourself anyway?” “Pinkie Pie! I… er… I’ve just been distracted, that’s all.” Twilight replied hastily to her hyperactive friend. Though one could hardly blame her, the sight of a pink-colored mare bouncing ever closer with each sentence can sidetrack anypony’s train of thought. Pinkie Pie came to a halt just a hoof away from Twilight’s muzzle. “Distracted? By what?” questioned Pinkie Pie. But before Twilight could muster another reply, Pinkie’s gaze veered away from her towards the balcony and she zipped off in a pink blur past Twilight. “Oooooh…” the pink mare exclaimed. “Rarity was right, you do have the best view of the city!” Pinkie scanned Canterlot from the edge of her advantageous position taking in the sights and sounds of the city night as it's citizens went about in a festive mood, their uplifting jubilee filling the atmosphere of Canterlot. She could hardly contain her excitement, but then again, it’s not hard to get excited when you’re Pinkie Pie. “Oh look! I can see Pony Joe’s donut shop from here! Oh, oh… there’s the spa Rarity took us to this morning! And isn’t that Photo Finish and her posse on their way here to the castle? I bet she’s coming to vwerk zer magiks!” Pinkie giggled amusingly at her own attempt at mimicking Photo Finish’s accent before gazing downwards closer to the castle grounds. In the lavish garden where the celebration was being held, ponies were mingling around. Those in charge of organizing the event hurried about to ensure everything was in order and hopefully, to avoid any unnecessary catastrophes from happening. Trouble had been known to find its way to Canterlot when the bearers of the Elements of Harmony came a visiting, and the ponies were well aware of the fact that should anything out of the ordinary occur, they would have to be ready for the worst. Pinkie’s eyes suddenly caught sight of a particular group of ponies massing around the garden and gave a squeal of joy. “Eeek!!! It looks like the cosplayers have finally decided to show their stuff!” “The who-and-the-what now?” Twilight’s face was a picture of confusion. “Oh silly Twily!” Pinkie chuckled. “Everypony knows cosplayers are ponies who come dressed up as their favorite character from real life or comic books or television! Basically, it can be any character who is popular enough to be recognized in an instant when somepony comes dressed up as one. You know, like us!” Pinkie finished the last words with her front hooves pumped into the air enthusiastically with a big smile on her face. “Right…” One of Twilight’s eyebrows rose in a quizzical manner. “So it’s like Nightmare Night, but without the scare factor. I guess that kinds of make sense, ever since Rarity influenced Fancy Pants on his views of common ponies, the Canterlot Garden Party is no longer just an event for the sophisticated and posh ponies of Canterlot; now everypony can be part of this great festival but…” Twilight puts her hoof to her chin and pondered. “This is our first ever Canterlot Garden celebration with the change implemented, how do you know so much about…” Her question was cut short by Pinkie’s short attention span as the pink mare stretched impossibly far over the ledge of the balcony and exclaimed. “Oooh!!! I see several other Pinkie Pies down there! Gee, those are some really good costumes those ponies have on. A little too good… what if, what if those are not costumes?” Pinkie gasped in realization. “What if they are all me? But, if they are me, then who am I? Am I the real Pinkie Pie? Did I go back into the Mirror Pool and come out not me? If that’s true, then how will I know who is the real me? Awww… I’m not sure if I can watch paint dry all over again!” Pinkie slapped her front hoofs to her head in exaggerated frustration while Twilight could only smile and shake her head in affection at her friend. “Oh Pinkie, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand you, or if I even want to!” She chuckled knowing Pinkie was just being the Pinkie she had come to love and appreciate. She was the pony who could bring laughter and smiles to anypony, and Twilight was very grateful to have a friend like her. Celestia knows she could use some laughter right about now… “There you are darling!” a melodious voice proclaimed. “I knew we would find you holed up in your own room.” A white mare entered the princess’s door and trotted gracefully through Twilight’s chambers. She was the picture of perfection with her sleek white coat and glossy, deep purple mane that fell luxuriously around her unicorn horn which was crowned with a jewel-encrusted tiara. Her long eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly over her striking blue eyes that were complemented by a golden necklace hanging around her collar with a large heart shaped fire ruby at the center. She was wearing a magnificent gown that draped over her body splendidly while leaving a tasteful slit near her rear, revealing her cutie mark, her signature three blue diamonds. Following closely by her side was another mare, one of an orange hue with three red apples for her cutie mark. Her blonde mane was tied in a ponytail with a patch swishing under her ever-present farm hat, her gait was less graceful than her classy friend but it had the surety of a pony who was no stranger to physical exertions. As opposed to Rarity, she did not have any makeup or fancy dresses on but she was by no means an ugly pony, in fact her freckles and bright green eyes gave her a natural beauty anypony would find attractive. Plus which pony could resist that country accent she spoke with? “Howdy Twilight! Like Rarity just said, we’d reckon if ya’ll weren’t at the garden, ya’ll would be back up ere’. Looks like Pinkie Pie beat us to ya though…” Applejack spotted her pink friend as she hopped over to greet the newcomers with Twilight in tow. “Yup, yup, yup! What took you girls so long? I totally want to head down there and Paaaar-tie!” Pinkie looked as if she was about to explode with excitement. “We might ave’ gotten ere sooner if it weren’t for somepony who took their own sweet time in front o’ the mirror.” Applejack rolled her eyes and turned accusingly at Rarity who let out a little gasp. “Well, Applejack darling, you know how important it is for a lady to look fabulous especially on a night like this.” Rarity flipped her mane in pride. “And after all the shopping we did earlier in the city? My mane was a complete mess! I simply had to make myself more presentable for all my fans out there tonight.” Rarity closed her eyes and swooned at the idea of having many adoring ponies surrounding her at the garden celebration. Applejack just stared at the fantasizing Rarity, somewhat unsurprised at the reaction she got. “Uh-huh… if ya say so sugarcube.” She playfully nudged Rarity out of her dreamy state while Pinkie and Twilight giggled at her annoyance from Applejack's disruption. “Ha-ha, oh Applejack, I never thought I would see the day Rarity would be able to drag you along on one of her shopping sprees.” Twilight chuckled. “I thought you hated shopping with a passion.” “Ah do!” Applejack confessed. “Ah just wanted to see Spike do all that heavy liftin’ for Rarity, its mighty fun watching em’ both head in and out of em’ fancy shops with Spike’s load getting’ bigger each time.” Applejack grinned remembering the afternoon she had with Rarity and Spike. “Heck, da best part was when we were back at Rarity’s room. Spike just kept starin’ at her puttin’ on all that make up like a luv struck puppy!” “Speaking of Spike, where is he?” Twilight suddenly came to realization that she had not seen her loyal friend and longest companion since he left with Rarity earlier in the day. “Ah thought he was right behind us.” Applejack glanced behind instinctively but Spike was definitely not behind her. “Rarity, did ya’ll misplace Spike or sumthin’?” “Why I never! I would never do such a thing to my little Spikey-wikey…” As if on cue, a small purple dragon with green spikes running along his back appeared at the door carrying a bundle of clothes. “Hi guys! Sorry I missed a corner, I er… kinda got distracted by the royal jeweler and his glass case of gems.” Spike shamefully admitted. “Oh and here are your clothes, Rarity. I did my best not to jumble them up too much.” “Aww… my Spikey-Wikey,” cooed Rarity as she used the magic emitting from her horn to levitate the clothes from Spike’s claws, laying them out orderly on Twilight’s bed. She turned back to Spike and battered her long eyelashes at him lovingly, which caused his little dragon heart to beat twice as fast. “Thank you for being such a dear today and helping me with all those shopping bags, what would I ever do without you?” She gave Spike a wet smooch on his cheek. The little dragon blushed hard in the cheeks, went all lightheaded, and could hardly contain his pleasure from being kissed by the pony of his desires. “Anything for you most beautiful one,” Spike blurted out. Spike went weak at the knees and swayed dangerously from side to side. When it looked as if he was about to topple over, Applejack put her hoof out to steady the little dragon before that could happen. “Hoho there loverboy, ya might wanna take a seat and cool off that heat wave.” Applejack chuckled while helping Spike lower himself to the floor. He sprawled out with his front claws supporting his face with his eyes still fixed on Rarity as her attention was now turned to Twilight. “Isn’t she just the most beautiful thing in all of Equestria?” Spike muttered in adoration. Applejack just shook her head at Spike’s never ending crush on Rarity. “Twilight darling, these clothes are to be your ensemble for the evening. How could I ever allow my friend, a princess no less, to attend a Canterlot Garden event without looking ravishing? And no, not a single word about sticking to simple and practical, I will not hear of it.” Twilight sighed in defeat, she knew it was a lost cause to convince Rarity not to pamper her with the dresses she had made specifically for Twilight. Usually she would just let Rarity work her magic on her; after all, the six of them would enjoy the occasional fancy party that Rarity loved so much. Hay, even Applejack would relent every now and then and allowing Rarity to doll her up a bit for an event. Then why was she feeling reluctant about tonight’s event? She did not want her friends to worry about any of her personal feelings; tonight was a night they all deserved to enjoy together as friends, as family. She hid her inner turmoil behind a smile and simply nodded at Rarity to proceed. The white mare began to help Twilight with her dress without any suspicion of her thoughts. “Ah-ha! I knew I’d find you up here egghead!” The little group of friends looked up at the source of the voice. Making a dramatic flyby entrance was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane as a cloud with a rainbow lightning striking out of it was apparent on her flank. She landed onto the balcony of the princess’s room with a blast of wind exploding from the impact, showing off her impressive wing power. Following her lead was another pegasus, fluttering gently behind her. Her pink mane flowed down her head, gracing her yellow coat as she timidly planted herself beside Rainbow Dash. “See Fluttershy, I knew we should have started searching at Twi’s place first instead of going through the entire castle area,” Rainbow Dash proudly declared to her yellow companion. “Um… actually, this was the first place I suggested we search for her,” Fluttershy replied in a soft, hardly audible voice. Rainbow Dash didn’t even hear her as she walked towards the rest of the ponies. “Hey Rarity, what’s taking so long for you to get Twilight all fixed up and ready? I thought you’d be done by now.” “Really Rainbow Dash, you hurt me,” Rarity jokingly replied while she adjusted a headdress to Twilight’s crown. “We had just arrived barely moments ago, give me a few more seconds and then I’ll be done, darling.” “Oh! Dashie, did you see all those ponies down there dressed up in costumes? There were even quite a few who decided to come looking like us!” “I know right? I managed to spot them while I was flying around, and I saw some really cool costumes of myself! It was, totally, awesome!” “Don’t encourage er' Pinkie, now we’re neh-var gonna hear the end o’ it.” “Don't be jealous Applejack, I'm sure there are ponies who would love to dress up as a strong, scruffy workhorse. Of course if they wanted to be one of the coolest ponies of the night, then they'll be turning up with rainbow-colored manes and blue wings like your's truly.” “Hey, who ya callin' scruffy?” Twilight couldn't help but smile at her friends' antics. Now they were all together, six best friends who have been through so much in the past few years. And despite their differences, they have remained steadfast companions through thick and thin, facing enemies like Discord and Chrysalis, going through challenges that have tested their bond together, and still they come out on top even closer than ever. And was it surprising? As the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, it felt like nothing will ever separate their friendship, even Twilight's recent journey to track down her crown from Sunset Shimmer in the other world proved that the magic of friendship could overcome any obstacle. Then... why did she feel that becoming a princess would put that friendship to the test even more-so than before? Sure, any serious responsibilities that came with being a princess of Equestria were not imposed on Twilight as her coronation was still just very recent. Plus Princess Celestia seemed to be preoccupied with business outside the castle as of late, but distractions can only hold off reality for so long; sooner or later, Twilight would have to face her destiny. Destiny... a word Twilight never thought she would come to dread so much these days. She felt a slight nudge against her wings that brought her out of deep thought. She faced the pony who did it and she found herself looking at Fluttershy's kindly muzzle. “You look really pretty Twilight, I mean, um... not that you usually aren't... but oh, you look really, really, really good in that dress Rarity made for you. I don't think think anypony tonight will be as pretty as you are! Er, but that’s just my... personal opinion.” Fluttershy blushed slightly at being so outspoken. “There! All done.” Rarity made a final adjustment to her new masterpiece. “And I must say Twilight dear, I have to agree with Fluttershy, in all my years of fashion designing, even I have rarely seen a pony as ravishing as you look now.” Twilight certainly did look every part the princess with her purple gown inlaid with gold, silver, and shimmering stars that seemed to move and flow along with the dress, seeming to give it a life of its own. It closely resembled Princess Luna's mane. The dress had sapphires and diamonds adorning the length of her train, while ruby-encrusted golden horseshoes graced her hooves as her legs were veiled by the finest velvet. And on top of her now swirly and rolled up mane sat her crown with a complementing headdress that had multicolored feathers caressing the sides, giving it the majesty of a peacock's tail. Even Rainbow Dash couldn't help praising her friend. “Wow, Twi, even I have to admit you look pretty amazing.” “Ab-so-lutely duper lookey!” “Well dont'cha look just swell Twilight. I'd reckon this da best job Rarity's done with ya'll. Ain't that right Spike?” “Ugh... I think I'm gonna be si... I mean yes! Yes Twilight, you look simply, uh colorful!” Spike quickly changed his tune after a sharp hoof to the tail by Applejack. “Still not as gorgeous as someponyelse...” Spike muttered under his breath as he turned his eyes towards Rarity. “Aww... thanks guys.” Twilight blushed hard. “I guess we should be heading down to the garden now...” “Whoopee!!!” Pinkie leaped into the air and zoomed out the door. She popped her head back in with a jester hat and clown makeup on her face while holding a giant pop-gun in her hoof. “C'mon girls! I don't want to miss a single moment more than I have to!” “Right behind ya, Pinkie!” Rainbow dashed out after the party mare. The rest of the ponies trotted after them equally excited to enjoy the Canterlot Garden celebration. As Twilight was about to follow her friends, Applejack raised a hoof barring Twilight from leaving. “Is there somethin' botherin' ya Twi? Ya'll seem a bit... off lately.” “Wha... whatever do you mean Applejack? I'm perfectly fine.” “Horse feathers! Ah might not be the smartest of ponies, Twi, but ah know when somepony is tryin' ta hide sumthin' from er' friends. Ya'll been awfully quiet ever since we got ere' earlier this week; ya won't hang out with us, play with us, hay ya didn't even join us fer dinner last couple o' nights. Tha others might not ave' noticed it, but ah have.” “It, it... it's just, I've been so busy learning about being a princess and reading up on various books to get ready for my next level of studies, you know, before princess Celestia returns from her important business.” “Uh-huh, right before she told ya ta relax an' have fun with yer best friends while she was gone? Ya'll do remember dat, right, Twilight?” Twilight sighed. She did remember, Princess Celestia had bid them farewell before leaving Canterlot just as the ponies had arrived from Ponyville. She had reassured her most faithful student Twilight that she need not worry about anything regarding her royal status and just have fun preparing for the Canterlot Garden celebration. However, her kind words were not enough to put Twilight's mind at ease. But she could not bring herself to confess her inner thoughts to her friends, not just yet, they had been so supportive of her it would be selfish of her to ruin their night at the gardens. “Look Applejack, I don't know what to say.” She hung her head in reply to her blonde maned friend. “I guess I've just been really tired lately. All these public appearances as a princess does get to a pony after-all. You need not worry, Applejack, like I said, I'm perfectly fine.” She gave a nervous smile as the orange mare studied her face. She wasn't sure Applejack bought her story; it wasn't a particularly good one at that. But Applejack didn't press the matter further. “Au-right Twilight, I supposed its non a' ma business ta snoop on yer personal life, but just so yer remember, 'princess'...” At the last phrase Applejack wrapped a foreleg around Twilight's neck and gave her a reassuring smile. “We'll always be ere' for yer sugarcube.” It was a small gesture, but it was all it took for all of the pent up emotions Twilight had kept inside of her to come swelling up. And it took all of her will to keep herself from bursting into tears. But as she looked at Applejack's face with her warm smile and freckled muzzle staring lovingly back at her, she could not hold her feelings in any longer. Here was the face of the pony anypony can depend on, the pony that would be honest and true to those around her even at her own expense, who would never let her friends down when it mattered most. But even Applejack could not be there for Twilight forever... Twilight's eyes moistened and a single tear rolled down her cheeks as she blinked back the pain. Applejack saw this and assumed that her friend was just touched by what she said. “Whoa there Twi, if ah knew dat was gonna make yer emotional an all, ah would've kept ma mouth shut.” She went behind Twilight and put her head to her friend's flank and pushed Twilight out of her room before using her hind legs to close the doors. “C'mon 'yer majesty'! Ah know just the thing to put a smile back on those royal lips of yers.” -------------------------- Later that night... “Phew! I'm beat! That sure was some party, eh, Twilight?” “It sure was, Spike.” Twilight replied him with a tired smile on her face. Applejack was right, the party had lifted her spirits, even if it was just for the night. It was a crazy blur but Twilight still managed to remember a few details here and there. She was overwhelmed by the amount of fans her little group of six had. There were so many ponies and fillies who came in costumes resembling Twilight and her friends, and they all wanted auto-hoof-graphs while showering the princess and the other ponies with gifts and flowers. Rarity and Rainbow Dash basked in all the attention they were getting, little surprise there. Rainbow showed off her flying moves for everypony to see and even performed a short stunt show for the cheering crowd. Though she did not quite pull off the Sonic Rainboom that she braggingly said she would do for the first time at night, but the everypony did get a taste of her famous Buccaneer Blaze and that was satisfying enough. Rarity had a chance to meet Fancy Pants and a group of Canterlot ponies who were at first very unused to the rowdy nature of the party, but soon got over it with Rarity's help. She even managed to get a few of them to join in on some of the more rough and tumble games which in its own was a small miracle. Spending all that time together with her other five friends had managed to rub off some of Rarity's phobia of getting messy, and now in turn she was doing it to the elite of Canterlot's society, what was the world coming to? Fluttershy surprisingly had found herself a group of ponies who adored nature and animals and had viewed Fluttershy as a role model of sorts, though it would be more accurate to say they found her as Fluttershy was constantly trying to avoid all the attention she was getting. Applejack had brought her banjo along and had played alongside the other music talents who were there at the party. Speaking of which, MC W1SH and DJ PON3 sure do know how to put on a show, everypony went wild when they came on stage together to perform. But things really went out of hoof when Pinkie Pie decided she wanted to up the ante, and when Pinkie decided that a party wasn't party enough for her, you know you were in for a night of your life. Dear Celestia, the things she did with that party cannon of hers... Twilight's horn glowed as she mused about the night she had been through, the doors behind glowed a slight purple color as they closed behind Twilight, manipulated by her magic. In a burst of magical energy Twilight disappears from the front of the doors and reappears at her dressing table. She levitated her headdress from her mane and gently placed it on her desk as she watched the reflection stare back at her from the mirror. She could still hear the laughter of her friends in her head as they had parted ways to their respective chambers for the night, all that fun she had, reminded her of all the good times they spent together in Ponyville, when she was just a regular old unicorn. She wished the night could go on forever, but she knew that could not happen. “It sure was...” she whispered to herself. “You say something Twilight?” Spiked asked as he was climbing into his bed on the floor that was besides Twilight's own. He had surrounded himself with the many gifts that he got from the Canterlot Garden party, Spike had a fair share of fans as well. “Oh it's nothing Spike, just thinking out loud.” Twilight gave a long pause as she continued to look at herself in the mirror, the purple star glittering slightly on top of her crown, a crown that she was beginning to feel the weight of its significance on her brow. “Sigh... Spike, you remember the talk we had a while ago, about Celestia giving me my own Kingdom to rule one day? I know you mentioned that you believed in me, and how I would make a good ruler and, and I really appreciate it Spike I really do. But, that’s not the only thing on my mind, its not just the new responsibilities I'm afraid of it's... our friends, what if I had to leave them behind? What if I'll never be able to spend time with them as I used to and our friendship just fades into obscurity? What if something happens that will separate us forever? Wha... what if... Spike... Spike?” Twilight turned her head around, she saw Spike had already fallen asleep snoring in his little bed with his arms and legs sprawled out. Twilight did not get upset, instead she trotted carefully over to her childhood friend who had been by her side ever since she was taken in by Celestia to be her prize student. As she reached Spike she gently tucked him in and pulled the covers over him with her mouth before getting undressed for a quick shower. As she got ready for bed, Twilight switched off the lights with her magic and got under the plush covers of her bed. She had managed to get use to her wings and they no longer irritate her as she tried to get comfortable, at least not as much as they use to. If she could get used to 'hands' and walking bipedal then she was not about to let wings stop her from having a good night's rest, Celestia knows she could use some right now. “Good night Spike, sweet dreams...” Twilight snuggled her pillow and drifted off to Luna's domain, the land of dreams... -------------------------- “You know Celestia, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind when you said you had need for my powers.” Discord had his arms stretched out, energy cackling from the tip of his one scaled, one pawed fingertips. His slender awkwardly colored body, a sharp contrast to the snowy landscape of the Frozen North, formed ghostly shadows flickering around him as the magical energies he conjured up danced and flowed through the night's sky striking a mountainside where a black gaping rift had made its presence on Eqeustrian soil. Standing slightly behind him was non other than Princess Celestia herself, with a look of serious determination on her royal visage. Surrounding them was a company of her closest ponyguards garbed in their gold armor with spears that bear the royal insignia just below the tip. And even though on the outside they were unfazed by the situation, deep down they were deeply troubled by the event they currently bear witness to. “As I said Discord, the situation is grim and certain... alternatives were required of me to gamble on.” The Equestrian ruler stood unwilling to be intimidated by the seriousness of the matter at hand. Her eyes were fixed on the black rift that Discord was aiming his magic at. It seemed to have gotten bigger since the first time she discovered it a few moons ago. “And if Fluttershy had not been successful at, ugh, reforming me... what, pray tell, would you have done then?” “I would have done everything in my power to harness the chaos energies you so enjoy using, and if not, I have other means at my disposal like those black crystals over there!” Celestia snapped, pointing with her right hoof at a semi-circle of black crystals positioned in front of the rift. They glistened with a darkness blacker than the blackest night with swirling energies with the color of rust and mold flowed in and out of the crystals and onto each other, creating a sickly picture against the purity of the snow covered lands. They were absorbing the foul tendrils of darkness that seemed to be emitting from the rift and distributing among themselves, their effectiveness at holding back the rift from expanding beyond eight feet and all directions was amplified by Discord's power. Celestia had taken great risks in creating them, by applying magic similar to the deceased King Sombra's in corruption. If it were not for the help and magic of her younger sister Luna combined with hers she could have fallen under the influence... but now was not the time to think of such things, what was important was keeping the gaping darkness at bay before she could come up with a solution to seal it off for good. If it could even be achieved... “Well, I was just asking a question princess, no need to get all snappy about it.” Discord faked his offense at Celestia. “This is what I get for turning to the good side...” sighed dramatically and closed his eyes in phony sadness. Whether Celestia was really fooled by Discord's usual prankster humor or she merely didn't notice we might never know, as she looked up to Discord apologetically. “I'm... I apologize Discord.” she managed to admit while remaining composed and regal as was becoming of a pony of her stature. “However this IS serious, in all my centuries of ruling Equestria I have never come across such unbridled evil as such emitting from this rift. It was fortunate that Luna and myself managed to discover its existence when we did. Other than the three of us and my most trusted ponyguards no one else is aware of this rift. And I intend to keep it that way.” Discord was genuinely surprised at Celestia's sudden honest admission to him. Of all the creatures of Equestria she had chosen to share this closely kept secret with him, Discord, the spirit of chaos. Though that was probably out of necessity as he was the one being that possessed this much chaos power at his command, and it seemed to be the only thing holding the rift at bay. “Apology accepted.” Discord flinched a little as he zapped a particularly large tendril that tried to make its way out from the rift and escape into the night's sky. “I am curious though... now hear me out first, when do you intend on informing your precious student Twilight and her friends regarding this... mess? No offense to your royal pride but I suspect the Elements of Harmony might help us a teensy-weetzy bit here in our dilemma. I should know, after all I have personally tasted its power, twice... and it tasted like cotton candy with chocolate! Just, more painful.” Celestia would normally chastise Discord for making jokes at such a perilous hour, but she found his mischievous humor strangely comforting in such a dire time. For many months she had to put on a mask and face her subjects daily with her usual routine to give the impression everything was fine and in order, while every night she would secretly check on the rift while her sister guarded the night. She had almost lost all composure when Sunset Shimmer had snuck into Twilight's room and stole her crown, causing her to have Twilight go to the other realm on her own in search of her Element of Harmony. All the sleepless nights and the power required to hold the rift in check had drained her considerably, and she would have broken down in front of her little ponies had it not been for Luna, who reassured her older sister and gave her strength in her hour of need. She had offered to charge the crystals and watch over the rift during the day as well since its powers seemed to wane during that time. It would theoretically have a greater effect on stabilizing the rift even more, but Celestia forbade it. She wanted her sister to be rested and ready, should it ever come to pass that Celestia herself could not survive the coming darkness... at least her sister Luna would be there to care for the citizens of Equestria, and her faithful student, a pony she had come to love and care for just as much as her own sister, Twilight Sparkle. “No.” Celestia firmly protested, but there was benignity in her voice. “No, Twilight and her friends cannot know unless absolutely necessary. Not even princess Cadence and Shinning Armor are aware of the rift's existence. I cannot risk the Elements of Harmony and their bearers until I am completely sure of what this stain on my land is. They will be the last line of defense should we fall... not even you can hold it forever Discord.” Celestia's voice trailed off as Discord scoffed at this remark. “Pffft... Princess puh-lyz, I used to rule all of Equestria on my own in case you've already forgotten. I'm the spirit of Chaos, I can manipulate reality at a single thought. Compared to a thousand years of boredom trapped in stone, this is a piece of cake!” Celestia looked at Discord, and despite his attempt at humor, she could see that he was strained with the task at charging the crystals and keeping the darkness at bay. The days were taking its toil on him and even Discord in his heart of hearts, knew that the princess spoke the truth. He may have been able to wreak chaos on Equestria without so much as breaking a sweat but this was something entirely different. Though chaos energies seemed to be the only thing capable of pacifying the rift, he wasn't so sure that it wasn't feeding off of his magic as well. And despite his haughty exterior towards the princess, he too was afraid of the fact that in all his experience, in his darkest moments in history, he has never come across anything that gave him such dread as this black hole did. And part of him was glad that Celestia did not want Twilight and her friends to be here, because that meant Fluttershy would have to come along. Fluttershy, the one pony that cared enough to be his friend even when her own close friends would not even try. The thought of his only friend being here in the icy desolate wasteland of the Frozen North at the mercy of that miserable excuse for a black hole, stirred up something inside Discord, did he really care what would happen to Fluttershy? Discord was't very good at this friendship thing yet but he knew if somepony tried to harm Fluttershy he would... “Aaaaaarggggggghhh!!!” “Discord!” Celestia had a look of horror on her face as Discord was knocked back by a sudden surge of energy from the black rift back-lashed against Discord, the most powerful she had seen thus far. Ripples of dark magic shot across the night's sky from the initial blast as the rift began to violently convulse and contort. A giant black oily tendril launched itself from the middle of the rift towards the fallen Discord at a frightening speed. Celestia leaps in front of him and creates a blazing trail of magical energy from her horn to counter the tendrils. Both energies collide and the struggle on who would prevail began. Sweat broke from Celestia's brow as she gritted her teeth in agony, closing her eyes as she did so in hope of keeping her focus. Time seemed to slow around her and noises muted to a drawl. She could barely make out the sound of her guards calling after their beloved princess as they rushed to her side, but even if they were to reach her, there was nothing they could do to aid her against such an enemy. No, Celestia had to win this on her own. The black tentacle pushed ever closer to her as she battled with all her might, but it was a lost cause as the dark energies drew ever closer to the princess. She would not have it, she would not lose to this vile entity that had cost her so much just to see it triumph over her. But she could not fight it, not alone, she needed help but it was too dangerous... the oily mass was already closing in on Celestia and would engulf her at any moment, memories of her battle with Chrysalis began to resurface, the image of her falling, the look of fear and disbelief on her subjects, the mocking laughter of the Changling Queen, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony rushing to save their princess, Twilight Sparkle... “Never again!” Celestia let out a word of power and streaks of magical energies branched out from her horn to connect with the black crystals near the rift, the affect was nearly instantaneous. Celestia's felt the boost of power throughout her entire body, and it felt rejuvenating, addictive even. She concentrated her magic once more, her eyes glowed covering up her pupils in a bright light as she unleashed her powers. Her energy beam tripled in size, the force of her new momentum pushed the writhing tendril back to whence it came and it reentered the rift with a sickly squish and eerie moan that faded into the wind. Celestia's energy beam now thundered against the rift as the hole was covered in the bright shining spectrum of her magic. She halted her assault and through watery eyes saw that the rift was now stable once more, it might even be slightly smaller than it was before if the princess dared to hope. She did it, it was a hard fight but she did... “Cough! Ugh... splutter!” Celestia felt a sickening pull in her abdomen as she fought back the urge to hurl. She coughed harder before clearing her sore throat, looking down she saw in horror deep red almost black splotches on the white carpet of snow beneath her, her own blood. “Your Majesty! Are you alright?” Celestia quickly kicked up some snow to cover the fact that she had just coughed blood from her approaching ponyguards. They did not need to see their princess like this. “I'm fine, I just need... to sit down for a while.” Celestia lowered herself, her rear legs trembling with fatigue and despite her protests, was aided by a couple of her royal guards. She thanked them before requesting that they turn their attention to the still out cold Discord. “Uggggghh...” Discord grunted as he opened his eyes. He was wrong, he would sooner go through another thousand years in stone than get hit by another blast of from that black rift. 'Blasted cheater.' he thought to himself as he remembered how the sudden eruption had come out of no where and caught him off guard despite having poured out all his powers into controlling the darn thing. Though he couldn't really hold a grudge against it as it was something he would have thought of as well, if the opportunity presented itself that is... He suddenly realized many eyes were watching him as lifted his head to see members of the royal guard surrounding him, with Princess Celestia sitting in the snow just a few hooves away from him with a look of concern on her face. “Heya, Tia' did we win?” Discord managed to muster a grin as Celestia sighed with relief that her ally was well, or at least well enough to be joking about matters that one wouldn't normally be joking about, but than, that’s Discord for you. She watched him sit up while trying to shoo away the guards helping him, insisting that he didn't need any assistance on standing on his own two feet. He took a moment to stretched himself before taking a good look at Celestia, as if noticing her for the first time. “You look terrible.” “I've been better yes...” she chuckled, coughing involuntarily as she held up a hoof to gesture her guards away. “Nothing a little hot tea and some cake couldn't fix.” “Done!” Discord snapped his fingers and a cup and saucer appeared in front of Celestia with a teapot suspended in the air automatically pouring tea into the cup. Beside it was another plate with a slice of strawberry cake with icing and cherry on the top. This caught the princess by surprise, but was grateful at the gesture of kindness. She looked to Discord who was now laying stretched out on a levitating hammock in mid air with one arm behind his head and the other pouring what looked like chocolate out of his thumb and into his mouth. “Thank you.” was all Celestia said, and Discord waved away her gratitude with one arm. “Ah feelings shmeelings, this is our well deserved break after what we've been through. Now drink up your tea princess before it gets cold from all this snow.” Celestia simply nodded and tried to levitate her cup to her mouth. But the glow of her horn dimmed before she could lift the cup. What had happen? She decided not to make a fuss by exerting herself in front of Discord and her guards by simply putting her muzzle down to the cup and drinking directly from it. One of her guards mustered up the courage to interrupt her. “Your majesty... we must get you back to the Canterlot royal castle, or to Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire, you need medical help.” Before Celestia could reply, the skies crackled with thunder and lightning. Dark clouds formed in a circle above the group spinning around with an opening in the middle that revealed the moon at its center. A flash of magic burst forth from the opening and a dark silhouette of a chariot being pulled by two pegasi came rushing downwards at top speed. As they closed in the pegasi were now visible, they had grey-brown coat and were clad in black, dark purple armor. The carriage behind them was streamline and had dragon like wings adorning its body. The passenger was covered in a cloak with a hood hiding the face from view. Before the carriage could even come close to landing the pony inside the carriage threw off the cloak and hood and jumped out of the chariot while spreading her wings to soar towards Celestia. Her mane a flowing starry blue that pressed against her dark blue coat as she flew faster than the chariot she had just jumped off from. As she landed in the middle of the little company with loud thud, kicking up a shower of snow as she did, it was apparent who this newcomer was. Princess Luna, guardian of the night. She rushed over to her crouching sister ignoring Discord and her sister's royal ponyguards. “Sister! What happened? I felt a great rip in the astral planes as I was traversing the dreams of ponies. It felt like a sharp spear piercing my hide, its like nothing I've experienced before.” She took a quick glance towards the rift and folded her wings in relaxation to see that it had calmed, for now. “I'm glad that its over now, but whatever happened earlier might have affected Equestria, we must ready the...” Luna stopped as she gazed at Celestia, her sister's condition now becoming apparent to her. She lowered her head next to Celestia's and nuzzled her. “We must get you home sister, whatever needs to be done here I can handle it in your absence, but you must rest to regain your strength.” Celestia didn't argue with Luna and slowly rises to her hooves. She flapped her wings a little and composed herself the best she could. “Very well, I supposed Discord and I do deserve some rest, and the rift should be stable enough for at least one night. Let us return to Canterlot sister.” Luna nodded and turned to command the royal guards to fetch her sister's carriage. Celestia took a single step forward before all her legs gave way as she collapsed to the ground, her vision fading away as the world around her blackens. The last thing she heard before the darkness completely overtook her was the voice of Luna crying out. “Sister!!!” --------------------------