• Published 28th Jun 2012
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A New Hero - Alex The Lone Wolf



What if there was another pony who joined the pony gang? (Look at longer description...)

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Prince Alexander and Princess Twilight Sparkle : Part One

???


Hey.

Heeey.

Astro, wake up!

I opened my eyes to see a shocking surprise from his bothersome face.

"Ugh…" I rubbed my eye roughly. "What?!" I asked in a crudely soft voice, being irritated that I was interrupted from slumber. I looked out the window and noticed the moon fully visible. "It's the middle of the night! What are you doing?!" I demanded like a ruler.

"Stargazing. I found out something you need to see!" He quickly waved his hoof his way, desperately wanting me to get out of bed to follow him. "Come on!"

I sighed greatly, dragged myself out of bed, and sluggishly walked after my ridiculous roommate.

He led me to the balcony, where there stood a golden telescope tarnished by the darkness of night.

"Go! Go take a look!" He emphasized.

"…okay?" I answered and walked towards the telescope to poke my eye through the socket. My entire right eye was covered with the dark sky.

"Well?! Do you see it?!" He asked quickly in his unstoppable excited voice.

"See what?" I returned, not knowing what the big deal was.

"The correlation!" I could feel a rush of air beside me as if he jerked up his hoof and pointed straight towards the area I was analyzing. "It…it…it's different! I've never seen anything like it!" My mouth slowly opened as I soon realized what he was beginning to talk about. "We've never studied anything about this! I can't tell if it's something completely rare, or new, or what!"

"Mother of Celestia…" I whispered. His stuttering explanation opened my eyes. What once seemed like nothing immediately became a completely new discovery…perhaps even for all ponykind! I pulled away my head and looked at him seriously, but energetically at the same time. "Are you sure this is right? Are you sure you didn't count one off or something?"

"I'm positive!" He answered enthusiastically. "That telescope is brand new! I just cleaned the lens!"

"Well," I began as I placed my hoof on my chin and grinned in thought. "If what we're seeing is really true, we can really wow our audience and even all of the astronomers here in Canterlot!"

"Yeah!" He exclaimed out loud excitedly. "And…" He walked over to me and nudged me with eyelids closed halfway. "Maybe, you can even get the attention of one of the princesses. One certain one, if you know who I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I lowered down his nudging foreleg and turned to head back inside. "Come on. We should start writing this stuff down. We need to do as much research and studying as we can handle. No time to lose on this gem."

"You got it, bro!" He answered as he trotted happily inside.

However, I was kept standing there for a moment. Ever since he had to mention her, she was stuck in my head. If this discovery was really worthwhile as we thought, perhaps I could finally receive the chance to actually…

…talk to her.


Episode 66 – Prince Alexander and Princess Twilight Sparkle – Part One


I heard the fresh sound of wind going through my ears as I came to conscious. My eyes were closed, but I knew I was awake now. After taking it in for a peaceful moment, I slowly opened my eyes to see that the sun was almost directly in my face. It took a moment for my vision to adjust. Then, I raised myself to see ponies preparing for the anniversary of the best thing to have ever happened to me.

Nonetheless, I smiled and released a huge yawn to accommodate my wake from sleep with. I began lowering myself on the soft and somewhat fluffy grass to either rest or fall back into a nap again. However, I suddenly found a darkened face staring right at me with a smile as I laid back.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed out, jumping up and feeling any sign of sleep flee away. I heard her instantly giggle as she held a curved hoof to her grin. Despite being almost scared out of my body, I laughed with her. "Give me a break, Twilight."

"Alex, you lazy bum." She joked in a playful tone. "I knew I'd find you snoozing down here."

I continued to reveal my warm prideful smile. "I can't help it. Ever since you showed me around here, I've found there's more to Canterlot than just rich snobby ponies."

"Of course there is." She took a seat next to me. "Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I guess." I answered as I stared off at the decorating ponies. "Still…I just took a nap and I had the weirdest dream."

"Like what?" She asked.

I placed a hoof to my mouth and tried to remember. There were only bits and pieces, and I couldn't remember them so clearly. "Something to do with…stargazing…correlation…having an annoying roommate…" I suddenly felt a light slap on the head, leading my head to slightly push forward. "Ow!"

"Are you still dreaming?" She questioned with the same spirited expression. She must have thought I was talking about her.

"Relax, princess." I settled. "I wasn't talking about you. It was someone else. I think…someone I didn't even know…"

"Well…being a prince and son of Princess Luna…" She fought back. "Wouldn't you be able to control your dreams too?"

"I don't know." I answered as I crossed my forelegs, threw myself on the grass, and looked up to the sky. "I'm not sure if I'd want to do that and go into other ponies' dreams as well. I'd rather leave that up to my mom."

Twilight joined me by lying herself by me as well. "Even so…I think we have a bunch of new things heading our way…"

"Yeah…" I responded, beginning to think about this new and maybe drastic change. I kind of…began feeling a little worried on how this change affected me. Affected us. Would things still be the same? Or… I shook my head rid of these thoughts. No time for thinking such things…at least not on a day like today.

"Alright! Come on! Get em up! We've got training to do!" We both heard an immediately recognizable voice not far from us. We quickly turned off our backs and on to our hooves to push us up.

"Rainbow Dash?!" We exclaimed in unison at her presence. She walked towards us and led us to see those who accompanied her behind. The rest of the girls were all there. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy…

"You got it!" Rainbow acknowledged. "You didn't think I'd forget about that training you need, did you?"

"W-well." Twilight looked back with slightly worried eyes. "I don't know if I have time for that…"

"C'mon!" Rainbow encouraged. "Just a quick flight session! Something to warm up those wings!"

Twilight looked over to me, as if she was yearning some reasonable advice from me. I smiled at her and motioned with a hoof. "Go on. We have time."

She turned her head back at Rainbow Dash and sighed heavily while lightly nodding. "Fine. Just a quick one, alright?"

"You got it, princess!" Rainbow returned. She slapped Twilight's sides, causing her to slightly yelp and for her wings to immediately pop up. "Let's get to it!" She lifted herself in flight, awaiting for Twilight to do the same.

I took this time to turn over to Fluttershy, who looked as adorable as ever. I calmly walked over to her as she noticed me stopping by. She slightly turned her head, and a section of her mane accidentally fell over her eye. Nevertheless, I used my left hoof to raise that part and place it back where it belonged. Then, I used my right hoof to grab hers and hold it close to me.

Both of our heads touched each other as we looked into each other's eyes.

"Hey." I softly greeted.

"Hi." She returned in the same manner.

"It's been a while since I've seen you…" I mentioned. "Sorry about that…"

"It's fine…" She understood. "You're a prince now. You have a lot of important things to take care of."

"I guess I do…" I looked towards the floor in light sadness for a moment before returning my eyes back to Fluttershy. "I guess that means I can't really be an artist back in Ponyville, huh?"

"You don't have to be if you're too busy."

"Hm." I thought for a bit. "If I have any free time, I want it to be with you girls…so…remember, Fluttershy. If you ever have a problem, and you need somepony, you can still come to me, okay? I'll make time for you."

"Hehe." She giggled a little with a hint of blush. "Okay."

We shared a kiss before Applejack stepped by us.

"Don't you two forget about the rest of us either!" Applejack shared, directing towards Twilight and me, but Twilight was too busy with her flight lesson.

"How could we?" I turned towards her, assuring confidently. "You all are the reason this happened. You all made this possible. You'll never leave our hearts." I began growing emotional, holding a clenching hoof on my heart. "Besides…I don't really like it when you say stuff like that… It makes it sound like we're going far away…"

Applejack walked towards me and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Sorry. I didn't mean to cause you no harm. You're right. You two won't forget about us. In fact, forget I ever said that!"

I felt her promising warmth and smiled to it.

"Correct, darling!" Rarity joined and lightly hugged her head to mine. "We'll still have the company of one another all the time!"

"Bunch of parties!" Pinkie Pie dove from above, leading us to laugh at her silliness.

"You gotta really flap 'em hard!" We heard Rainbow Dash above, having us turn to see their current session. Twilight nodded and closed her eyes to focus all of her strength to her wings. However, doing so led her to spiraling a bit out of control and stop hunched over a tree branch. "Maybe not quite that hard."

Twilight recovered and leapt off the tree where she began attempting to lower herself down, but it was quite obvious that she was still having trouble keeping her wings in sync. She began flailing her hooves in a circular motion as if she was desperately trying to stop before she could crash on the ground.

I jumped and flew over to her, placing my hooves on her and slowing down her speed. "I've got you." I assured before I gently placed her on the ground.

"Thanks…" she expressed with a light smile.

"Lookin' good up there, Princess Twilight!" Applejack praised as she and the other girls joined us.

"Applejack, you know you don't have to call me that." Twilight returned.

"Why do you protest so?" Rarity included in. "You two have already given up wearing your crown all the time. The least you both can do is embrace your new title."

"If other ponies want to address me that way, I suppose it's fine, but..." She paused and looked out to the rest of them. "…not my friends. It just doesn't feel right."

"Twilight's right." I added. "That title…is what separates you girls and any other ponies. Using that title with us… It just honestly makes you all sound like…I don't know…any other pony pretty much. You all are our best friends, and it should stay that way. Don't see us as some royal rulers. See us as your same friends…please."

"Heh." Twilight shared with another smile at me. "I couldn't have said it any better myself…"

"Okay, okay." Applejack waved her hoof. "We getcha. We understand."

Twilight nodded her head in approval. "Thanks, besides…" She looked towards her wings and sighed. "I just can't get this flying business done… The Summer Sun Celebration is only two days away, and I'm never gonna be ready to perform my part."

"Not if you spend all your time down here, you won't!" Rainbow Dash intervened energetically. "Now get up there and show everypony the big finish!" She pointed out above.

Twilight nodded and spread out her wings. Then, she took off beyond to begin practicing her routine. In order to give her some encouragement, I decided to spread out my wings as well and accompany her by her side.

As the girls down below cheered, I stayed by her side to tell her how well she was doing. "There you go, Twilight! You've got it!"

Twilight realized this and began to feel the excitement of flight. "Woohoo!" She exclaimed. However, her eyes seemed to widen and she immediately began throwing out her hooves after. "Whaaaa!" She screamed, trying to stop, but her wings continued flapping. Before I could grasp what was going on, she had already flown through three clouds. I rushed to her in time to see her coughing out parts of the clouds.

"Hey, are you okay?!" I quickly and worriedly asked.

"Yeah." Twilight nodded. "I'm just—"

She began plummeting towards the ground, realizing that she hadn't been keeping her wings in movement. She began screaming again, swinging her hooves around and soon enough her wings. I dashed over to her to catch her, but flapping her wings in panic prevented her from crashing at the ground for a moment. She turned back above, and it looked as if she had enough of fear from her session. I flew as fast as I could to her and wrapped my forelegs around her to stop her, but she continued panicking and throwing her hooves and wings all over the place. Instead of stopping her, I was forced to spiral out of control with her. After one somersault in the air, we ended up crashing in the ground and spreading out lots of dirt.

Twilight and I remained there almost motionless, just trying to get our senses back.

"Wow! That was a big finish!" Pinkie Pie arrived at the crash site, exclaiming out happily.

Twilight narrowed her eyes in frustration and groaned loudly.

"Uh…I guess that's enough flying for today…" Rainbow Dash suggested as she rubbed the back of her head with her hoof.

"Hey! I heard you two have a spot on a stained glass window in the castle! Can we go see? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie eagerly questioned.

Twilight and I managed to sit back up.

"Sure, I guess." Twilight responded.

"Yipee!" Pinkie Pie jumped and wiggled her hooves for as long as she remained in the air.

"You alright?" I inquired, presenting a hoof in front of Twilight.

"Yeah." She accepted my hoof and allowed me to pull her up. "Thanks for breaking my fall. I hope I didn't hurt you…"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just glad you're not hurt." I answered.

"Thanks." She smiled and placed a hoof on me before she began leading the others to Canterlot Castle.


We entered the magnificent hall which apparently held all historic and significant events from the past, far or close. Of course, the newest addition was the coronation of Twilight and me. It was just another one of the huge stained glass windows, but Twilight and I were the center of attention. Both of us were wearing our crowns, and seeing such a thing made me think so much of the present and the past.

"You two look amazing!" Rarity commented at the sight of it. "They really captured your regalities."

"I suppose." Twilight answered with a retracted pose.

"Meh…" I returned, not too fascinated about the idea of being a prince as Rarity was to being a princess.

"Don't be so modest." Rarity reacted. "It's everypony's dream to someday wear a crown and have their coronation ceremony preserved in stained glass for all to see! Aah!" She squealed shortly.

"I don't think that's entirely correct, Rarity…" I responded with a lowered eyebrow.

"Yeah…" Rainbow agreed.

"Most of my dreams are about frosting!" Pinkie Pie suddenly cut in and slurped loudly, already beginning to drool at the thought. "Ohohohoho..."

"We'd better get going." Fluttershy stepped in, pointing to the outside. "We don't want to miss our train."

"Fluttershy's right." Applejack agreed. "Don't know about y'all but I still got bushels to do to get ready. The official celebration may be here in Canterlot, but hoo-ee has the Mayor put us in charge of one heck of a party back home."

"Oh…" I returned, sadness arising as I remembered about the celebration back home. "…right."

Twilight and I looked at each other with gloomy expressions, leaving Applejack to confront us. "Aw, don't look like that, sugarcubes." She grabbed our chins with her hooves and lifted them as they faced her. "You two get to be right there with the other Princesses when Celestia raises the sun."

"And we're honored. Really, we are." Twilight reacted, having me nod in agreement. "It's just that the Summer Sun Celebration is what first brought us all together. It just doesn't feel right not getting to spend such a special day with my Ponyville friends."

"It doesn't feel right to us either, darling." Rarity quickly tended to. "If the Mayor wasn't so desperate for our assistance, we'd most certainly stay here in Canterlot. And of course we do understand that your royal duties must come first."

"The Summer Sun Celebration may have brought us together, but it's something much bigger that'll always keep us connected." Applejack assured, standing between Twilight and I and placing her hooves on us. "Exhibit A:" She directed at the very first stained glass window of us. "The seven of us are united by the Elements of Harmony." I looked down to my chest and placed a hoof on it when she said that. "No amount of royal duties is gonna change that. Right, everypony?" The rest of the girls, excluding Pinkie Pie, agreed delightfully, which led us to turn in Pinkie's direction. "Right, Pinkie Pie?" Applejack strained.

Instead of giving a solid answer, Pinkie Pie only continued to drool at the thought of whatever she was imagining. "Creamy, creamy frosting..." She slurped and chuckled.

Fluttershy quickly dashed over to her to wipe her mouth with a cloth. "You should take that as a yes." Fluttershy recommended as she looked back at us.

"Guess we should start heading off then…" Applejack reminded everypony.

"Let us walk you out." I quickly offered.

Twilight nodded and accompanied me by my side as we led them out the hall.


The train whistle blew as we all stood right by the train itself. Pinkie Pie was already excitedly telling us what she wanted to do as they were preparing for their departure.

"We're gonna write you and give you so many details, it'll be like you're in Ponyville with us!" She exclaimed excitedly, turning towards the others after. "Right, girls?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." They all chanted in unison, including that exact same motion Pinkie Pie used and taught to us.

"And you will be with us right after the Celebration." Rarity brought up, holding up several supplies including a color palette derived from a single basic color. "We already have an appointment on the books to discuss the royal upgrades to your loft decor." Rarity stopped to look at me. "I'm sure Alex would love to help me with that?"

I chuckled lightly. "Sure thing, Rarity."

The train whistle blew once again, leading the conductor to shout out loud. "All aboard for Ponyville!"

The girls took notice and immediately gathered around us for a group hug. Afterwards, they all began boarding the train. Fluttershy stayed behind for a while, as she seemed to want to express something more with me. I would have wanted to take my time with my farewell for her, but I had to be quick since the train was already readying to leave.

"I guess…I'll see you later, then." I mentioned sadly towards her.

"Right…" She nodded in an understanding way, but felt the same feelings about it. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Flutters…" I pulled her in for longing kiss and a lasting hug. I waved to her when she turned to board the train. However, Pinkie Pie surprised us when she cheered and dropped from above us, squeezing Twilight and me tightly. She bounced back through the window just as the train began leaving. We were left to see the girls still releasing encouraging waves as they slowly grew smaller and smaller from our sight. Their lasting presence was able to have me continue to smile warmly until I noticed Twilight wasn't doing so well.

After she sighed depressingly, I lowered my head to plant my eyes on hers. "You're really going to miss them…aren't you?"

"I can't help it, Alex." She answered with inner distress. "They've only been gone a minute, and I already feel like I'm missing something."

Before I could attend to her comment, the pony courier in Canterlot stopped by with a letter held in his hoof. "For the Prince and Princess."

Spike, who had been accompanying Twilight and me, took the letter as he usually handled such business. "Dear Twilight, you aren't missing anything. Your friend, Pinkie Pie."

"That's me!" We heard the same sender shout through the distance. After, we could hear all the girls cheer and laugh beyond as if they were proud of our positions.

With a short smile, I shook my head. "Typical Pinkie."

"But I am." Twilight suddenly sounded and caught my attention. "I just know it."

"Hey, listen…" I tended to her, placing a compassionate hoof on her shoulder. "I really know how you feel. How we're separated from each other for this moment because of royal duties…but at least we have each other, right?" This allowed her to raise her head up a bit to me. "After all, this isn't going to last forever. Just for a little while… It's going to be a little hard without missing them…but we'll get through it."

She smiled in silence at me for a second. "Yeah…you're right."

"I don't mean to interrupt you guys…" Spike spoke. "But it'd probably be a good idea to go over the things we've already done for the celebration. Maybe we can squeeze in a good amount of free time before the actual event starts?"

"Yeah, okay, Spike." Twilight began walking back towards the interior of Canterlot. "Let's go do that."

"Sounds good to me." I included, feeling a little better. I sort of felt the closer we were to finishing this, the closer we could see the others again. It's not that I hated the Summer Sun Celebration or didn't want to accomplish our tasks… It was just like Twilight had said… It was going to be really weird without the others, and it was already feeling different without them now…


Once, Twilight, Spike, and I returned to the room in Canterlot Castle we were staying in, Spike immediately began sorting out the checklist business. Twilight decided to work it out with him so she could leave me to my own matters. I had received a letter personally addressed to me on the way to the castle, and it was addressed only to me. So, it couldn't have been the girls…I think…

As Spike reviewed over the things we'd already done, I carefully opened the letter in front of me with my magic. I pulled out the message from within and straightened out the flaps. After I was able to straighten it out correctly, I began carefully reading it.

Dear Alex, I know you're very busy with the Summer Sun Celebration, but I was thinking about having dinner with you afterwards, if you're free, of course. I was going to take a trip to Canterlot to see you participate in it anyway, so if you're able to, we can see each other after. I don't want to take too much of your time, so it can only be for half an hour or so, whatever you're comfortable with. Once again, I suppose it depends on what your answer is. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Rosy.

Hm… It would be nice to see her again…just to catch up a bit…but…

I looked back at Twilight, who was keeping her eyes on Spike as she was practicing her flight skills again. Then, I turned back to the letter.

…will I have time to do that? I don't want to miss the time Rarity is going to work on that décor thing she was talking about…

I lowered my head to keep staring at the letter.

…she's going to be in Canterlot anyway. Just half an hour, right? I'm sure the girls will be here longer than that. Yeah… just for half an hour.

I took out a pencil, levitated it with my magic, and began scribbling my response in another letter.

Dear Rosy, I am in fact very busy with…well…I guess you could say my 'royal duties'…but I think I can see you after the celebration. Unfortunately, it will probably have to be only for half an hour, as I have other plans I need to attend to. Unless there is an emergency summon of me for something important, I believe I shall make it to see you. I guess, we'll know when the time comes. Until then… Alex.

I sealed the letter securely and left it on the desk to send later. I sighed from my thoughts.

I really hope this royal business doesn't change anything with all of us…

"Check, check, check, check, and... check!" I heard Spike count off when I was finally done in my own little world. "Huh, whaddaya know? We're way ahead of schedule! I credit your extremely competent assistant."

Interested on this matter, I stood up and walked towards him while Twilight managed to carefully lower herself from flight. She only had slight trouble with her balance when placing her hooves firmly on the floor.

"So do I." She answered to that.

"The Celebration isn't until the day after tomorrow." He reminded. "We could still fit in a quick trip to Ponyville and be back in plenty of time to finish off these last few things before the main event!"

Seeing how visiting the others sooner than planned might help with these slowly evolving feelings of doubt, I nodded with an enlightened smile. "Yeah. That sounds good." I commented enthusiastically.

However, Twilight seemed to not stand mutual on this decision. She sighed and appeared apologetic for what she was about to say. "That would be nice…but what if something else came up while we were gone? What if we were delayed getting back and I wasn't able to finish everything on that list?" She walked over to another area in the room, placing a hoof upwards. Then, she began flying ahead, paying more attention to what she was saying rather than knowing where she was going. "What if we lost the list on the way to Ponyville and then couldn't remember which things we'd done and which things we hadn't done, and then spent so much time trying to figure out what we hadn't done and what we had done, and we ruined the entire Celebration by not doing the one really important thing that we were supposed to do?!"

I flew above her and cushioned her before she could hit herself against the ceiling.

"I understand what you're going at…" I answered as I lowered her down gently. "We can just leave the list here. We don't have to take it with us…unless you're worried it might be missing when we get back. Then, we can just make copies of the list if it really bothers you…unless you're…" I sighed and placed a tired hoof to my aching forehead. It seemed I had enough on my mind to worry about the little things.

"I'm sorry, Alex…" She apologized softly. "But…it's just… These are the first royal duties Princess Celestia has given us. We can't risk letting her down…"

"And I'm sure you won't." We coincidentally heard her voice from the doorway.

"Your highness!" Spike called out, walked towards her, and bowed quickly, which also led Twilight and I to join him.

"No need for that now, Princess Twilight and Prince Alex." She corrected warmly.

"Sorry." Twilight expressed as we both stood up.

Princess Celestia giggled. "No need to apologize."

"Sorry!" Twilight apologized again, grinning nervously.

"I must admit that it is wonderful to actually be looking forward to the Summer Sun Celebration." Celestia stated as she walked in the room.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, seeming to be unexpected by this answer.

Her smile disappeared for the moment as she walked over to the window to observe something. "For my subjects, it has always been a celebration of my defeat of Nightmare Moon. But for me..." She sighed. "It was just a terrible reminder that I'd had to banish my own sister." I joined her, placing my hooves on the windowsill to give me a better view outside.

I saw my mother on one of the highest towers in Canterlot Castle. She was greatly focusing her magic on the moon as it lifted upwards slowly. Hm… She must have thought I was really busy…so she didn't ask me if I would've of liked to help her…

"I…kind of always wondered about that…" I mentioned as I continued gazing outside. "How it must have felt to have gone through a thousand years with that reminder stuck in your head." I raised a hoof and turned towards Celestia. "Tia, I know you did it because you had to…but…was there any…hostility between the two of you after it had been done?"

She held her head down low a bit as she recounted the events. "Not exactly… There was just…sadness and…sickness of separation. It was a very hard time to go through."

"Oh…" I expressed with a slight loss of words. "I'm sorry… It must have been very painful…"

"Never mind that now, child." Celestia placed a hoof on me and turned me towards Twilight with her warm smile retrieved. "The Summer Sun Celebration has become a wonderful reminder of her transformation back into Princess Luna, and our happy reunion. I am so pleased that you two will be playing a role in the festivities." She conveyed with great heart. "I know it must have been difficult to see your friends return to Ponyville without you."

This led Twilight to frown a bit and look away. "Maybe a little."

"You may no longer be my student, Princess Twilight…" Celestia referred to her. "…but I hope not just you, but the both of you, know that I will always be here if you need me. Just as I hope that you two will always be here when I need you." With those words, she caressed each of our heads with hers, sending her warmth into my heart as well.

However, we suddenly heard Spike clear his throat, catching our attention abruptly. "I think this guy needs you?"

The courier stuttered a bit, possibly due to the presence of Princess Celestia. "Uh, a message for Princess Twilight and Prince Alex."

"Oh, here." I looked over to the letter I wanted to send as Twilight grabbed the one he held. I used my magic to hover it over to the courier. "Could you send this one?" He nodded, leaving me to thank him as he left.

When I directed my attention towards the new letter we received, Twilight began opening it. As soon as she tore the top off, a party popper went off and a bunch of confetti exploded from inside, giving us the instant assumption that it was once again Pinkie who sent it.

"A letter from Ponyville, I presume?" Celestia asked, catching on with us.

"Never mind." Twilight placed it away with a smile on her face. "It's not important. Spike, where were we?"

"About to call it a night?" Spike suggested but guessed at the same time.

"We should probably go over the checklist one more time." Twilight recommended.

"I knew you were gonna say that..." Spike's hopes vanished, having him pull out the checklist once more.

"I'll leave you to it." Celestia excused herself with a kind grin.

Although, I ended up stopping her outside the room.

"Tia?" She turned around to face me. "Um…" I glanced over to the floor for a moment. "Would you say…Twilight and I are going to be alright?"

"Of course." She answered with no sign of hesitation. "Why? Is something troubling you?"

I motioned my mouth in a way that revealed uncertainty. "I don't know…" I rubbed the end of my hoof against the floor.

Celestia's hoof picked up my head and rubbed my mane. "You two will do just fine. If there's anything you need to discuss to me about, you can see me in my room."

"Thanks." I nodded, feeling a little better, even though I felt it wouldn't last too long. "Goodnight, Tia."

"Goodnight, Alex." She returned with one last soft beam and headed off on her way again.

I turned as well and entered back inside the room, closing the door shut.

As Twilight and Spike were busy with their checklist, I walked over to window to see if my mother was done raising the moon. However, when I looked out, I noticed the moon was visible, but her work wasn't completed. She wasn't at the tower anymore.

I wonder where she went…

Suddenly, something dropped in my heart, and I felt a chilly strike invade my body. It was almost frightening.

"Alex, is everything alright?" Twilight asked nearby.

I looked back to see her staring at me a little worriedly.

"Oh…yeah." I returned, not sure what to make of on what just happened. "I guess I just got a bad vibe, that's all."

"Maybe you need to rest." She suggested.

"Yeah…I guess…" I accepted. "What about you?"

"I'm going to stay up a bit thinking about the Summer Sun Celebration. Just to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"I'm hitting the sack. I'm pooped!" Spike began rummaging around in his own tiny bed, which was just his size.

"Do you need any help…?" I inquired, not wanting her to stay up too late.

"No." She waved her hoof and shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Okay… Well…just wake me up if you need anything."

"Will do."

"Goodnight, Twi."

"Goodnight, Alex."

She sent me a smile as well, even though I still couldn't shake off that weird feeling I had. Despite that, I climbed into bed and made myself comfortable before closing my eyes and waiting to go unconscious.


Alex…Alex…

I felt a couple of hooves gently shake my body.

"H…huh?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Wake up! Something weird is going on!" Twilight exclaimed in a whispered tone.

I finally opened my eyes to see her standing by my bedside.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, attempting to become fully awake.

"Come look outside!" She motioned.

I slid out of bed and followed her to the window. What was presented before me had me staring for a moment until I finally realized what I saw.

"Ungh..." Spike was heard stretching behind us. He possibly woke up due to the noise we might have been making. "What time is it?"

"It's the middle of the night!" Twilight answered. "But it could be morning." She added, unable to confirm just like me. "That's just it! I can't tell!"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, getting out of bed and walking towards us. "You're the one who looking outside…huh?!" As soon as he caught a glimpse of both the sun and moon parallel to each other, he became clueless as we were. "Whoa. That is weird!"

"Come on, we have to find out what's going on!" Twilight stated, leaving Spike and I to stay on her tail as she left in a hurry.


The minute the three of us exited Canterlot Castle and into the streets, we were immediately confronted by a pony who announced our appearance out loud. "The Prince and Princess will know!"

Many of the residents of Canterlot quickly approached us after that statement, gathering up a large crowd to follow.

"I'm-I'm sure it's just... There's certainly a logical ex—"

She tried to explain to the chattering ponies before one of the royal guards interrupted.

"Your Highnesses, you must come with us." They recommended seriously.

We didn't have any other clue on what to do, so we obviously followed their direction. They took us back inside the castle where they shut the door, separating us from the fearing citizens.

"It's Princess Luna and Princess Celestia…" One told us dreadfully.

"They're gone!" The other shouted out in slight panic.

Twilight and Spike immediately gasped at this alarming news while I could only be silently caught off guard.

"But I don't understand! Where are they?" Twilight questioned in great fright.

"We don't know." The guard answered. "It seems that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have simply... vanished." He emphasized that last word.

"Well, how could have they vanished?" I wondered from my confusion. "We saw them only the night before!"

"This is why we have come to you." He responded.

The both of them bowed before us. "We await your command."

"Our command?!" Twilight asked in boundless shock. I was surprised just as much as she was. I never actually expected giving commands for royalty before.

"We're officers of the Royal Guard." The guard explained. "We take our orders from royalty. With Princess Luna and Princess Celestia gone, and Princess Cadence overseeing the Crystal Empire now, that means we take our orders from you two." Twilight could only look forward with a pressuring puzzle in her mind. "Princess Twilight. Prince Alex. There's no time to waste. We need to know what you want us to do."

Twilight looked towards me, desperately wanting to know what I was thinking about the situation. We need to make the most important things our first priority.

"We need to find the princesses." I offered. "They're the only ones who would know what's going on."

Twilight quickly nodded and faced the guards. "Yes, continue the search for Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. We have to find them before ponies start to panic. There must be some clue that can tell us what's happened to them. If you find something, anything, let us know immediately."

The guards nodded, saluted, and then quickly went off on their way.

"Wow." Spike mentioned in somewhat small surprise. "Way to take charge."

"Your highnesses!" The doors suddenly slammed opened. "News from Ponyville!" Another guard rushed in while explaining his message. "The Everfree Forest appears to be... well... invading!"

Twilight gasped at the new threat which clearly brought massive pressure among us.

"Wha-what do you mean?!" Twilight questioned in surprise.

"Things that come from the Everfree Forest! They're attacking Ponyville!"

"Quick!" I announced. "Join the other guards in search of the princesses! We'll handle this!"

As soon as he took his leave, Twilight turned and began racing up towards our room.

"Twilight?" I called before following her.

She burst into our room and quickly went through the drawer as if she was desperately looking for something. "Here it is!" She exclaimed when she pulled out her crown.

"Your crown?" I asked.

"Come on!" She exclaimed, grabbing my hoof to take me back downstairs. On the way, we passed Spike who just arrived in a breathless manner. He released a loud exhausted groan and turned to try to catch up to us again.

"Where are we going?!" Spike asked us as he panted when we ran down the steps outside of the castle.

"The Everfree Forest is... 'invading'." Twilight answered as she placed the crown firmly on her head. "Whatever is going on, I'm sure we're going to need our friends and the Elements of Harmony to stop it! I just hope we haven't missed the train..."

Spike returned a few gasps as he became short on breath. "Twilight? There is another way for us to get to Ponyville, remember?"

"There is?" Twilight inquired, bringing herself into a sudden stop. Spike accidentally bumped into her and almost fell in the water under the bridge we were on. I managed to quickly grab hold onto his claw with my hoof and pull him back up.

"You guys can fly!" He pointed out.

"Oh. Right!" She stated, realizing the unlocked option that required her wings. She grabbed Spike and placed him on her back.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked her. "We're not practicing in the same area; we're moving to a different town."

"What's the worst that can happen?" She returned with a smile. "Besides, you'll be there to catch me if I fall, right?"

I chuckled a little. "I'll try."

"Come on!" She directed, attempting to fly off the ground. "It's time to perform our royal duty!"

As she struggled a little in getting her wings in sync, I hopped off the ground, grabbed her hoof, and gave her a boost, which set her off in the right path.

"You're doing great so far." I praised as I noticed her flying smoothly.

"Let's just hope that doesn't change too soon!" She replied as she tried to focus on her flying as much as possible.

"Just relax your wings!" I advised. "Don't keep them clenched." She made a few grunts and sounds to her attempt to keep her flying straight. "If you feel like you need to, hold on to my hoof!" I offered.

"Thanks, Alex." She expressed. "But for now, I need to try on my own."

"Understood." I answered before looking ahead. I then spotted something abnormal in the distance. "What's that?"

Twilight squinted her eyes at the unidentified flying objects ahead. "Those are Everfree clouds!" She looked below. "And Ponyville is right there!"

"Watch out!" I warned, seeing the clouds move on their own unlike the usual Ponyville clouds. "They're moving around!"

We were heading right in their direction, just as they were moving towards us. It didn't equal such a good outcome. I managed to dodge the few that strayed off, but Twilight had a few problems on the other hoof. She managed to miss them as well, but her sharp and sudden jerks almost caused Spike to fall off. Spike was holding on to her tail when I grabbed her hoof and brought her back up with me in a balanced manner. Twilight's tail swung enough to have Spike land back on her back, but he held a nauseated look instead.

"I'm starting to wish... we'd taken the train!" He regretted.

"Almost there!" Twilight pointed. "Come on! We need to get the Elements of Harmony and find the others!" She announced before focusing forward and increasing her speed.

"Twilight!" I called out, trailing behind her. "I think you're going too fast!"

"Incoming!" Spike shouted out.

Twilight tried to stop by pushing out her legs, but her wings remained at the same speed. In the next second, she ended up disappearing by teleporting inside the treehouse, leaving Spike to slam straight against the window. I quickly attended to him and noticed how he was barely conscious. His tongue was sticking out of his open mouth.

"Uh…" I expressed, uncertain of his status. However, I picked him up and headed towards the front door of the library.

When I entered, he suddenly became fully aware, as the sight of the ground revived him. He jumped towards his sight and began kissing thankfully. "Sweet ground! Sweet, sweet, wonderful ground!"

"Okay, I get it! I need to work on my flying!" Twilight acknowledged as she looked back in annoyance.

"Alex!" Fluttershy tackled me to the ground and nuzzled her head with mine.

"Hello to you too, Fluttershy." I answered with a smile.

"I dunno if you've noticed, but the Everfree Forest is just a teeny-tiny bit out of control." Pinkie Pie pointed out towards the window. However, her tail suddenly began twitching, causing her to quickly duck down.

Then, something immediately shot out towards Rarity and took her against the library wall. I gasped and quickly glared at the evil-looking branch before cutting it in half with my magic. Applejack quickly closed the opened window as I tended to Rarity. I grabbed her hoof and pulled her up as I looked worriedly to her. "Are you alright?"

She was still a little dazed, but shook out of it. When she realized I was holding on to her, she grinned softly and nodded. "Now am I."

"Guess it turned out you were missin' something here in Ponyville after all." Applejack continued the conversation.

"But perhaps you already know what's causing all of this calamity." Rarity glanced between Twilight and me. "Has Princess Celestia sent you two to dispel it posthaste?"

Before Rarity could become too comfortable, I gently placed her back on her hooves.

"Not exactly. You see, Princess Celestia is, well... she and Princess Luna are both..." Twilight tried to explain, but hesitated as she didn't want to upset the others.

"Gone missing!" Spike cried out.

The girls all gasped loudly.

"I don't know who has taken them, but I've got a hunch we're going to need the Elements of Harmony to get them back." She looked over to the glass case holding the Elements and brought them out, placing the belonging one to each pony.

"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered when her element was placed on hers. "Just like old times."

"A-boo-yah!" Pinkie Pie bumped hooves with Twilight when receiving hers.

"I told ya we'd always be connected by the Elements." Applejack assured Twilight. Releasing a sigh, she began offering her plan. "Now we just gotta figure out who to aim these bad boys at so we can get Celestia and Luna back and keep the rest of Equestria from becoming plant food!" Another one of those branches or weeds slipped in, having Applejack quickly step on it before it grew any longer. "Any ideas?"

"Hmm..." Twilight wondered with a hoof to her chin.

"I haven't found squat in any of the books I've been looking through!" Pinkie announced, revealing that she wasn't looking at any informative books, instead, it was a coloring one. "Oopsies! Missed a spot!" She scribbled with a crayon.

"Well, we've just got to work with what we've got." I suggested to them all. I turned towards the window and looked out. "What would cause these abnormal things to happen? And how could they occur with the princesses missing? Why would they be missing in the first place?"

"Half day, half night..." Twilight joined me, analyzing the clues held outside. "…strange weather patterns... out of control plants. I think I'm starting to get a pretty good idea of who we're up against." She turned and began walking towards the door.

"And who exactly would that be?" I questioned as I followed her. I didn't exactly have someone in mind.

"Who's the one being we didn't kick out of Ponyville? The only specialty he had was being abnormal?" Twilight hinted at as the girls and I followed her outside.

After that, someone did come to mind…but it didn't feel right. For some reason…it did seem to make sense, but it didn't seem to be actually true. I could see it happening, but I couldn't just seem to connect it now. "Are you sure he would actually do this?"

"Who else would?" Twilight questioned.

"I'm with Twilight on this one. That fella is just full of no-good surprises!" Applejack added, narrowing her eyes angrily.

"Yeah! Me too!" Pinkie Pie added in the same tone, but then quickly retracted. "Wait…who are we talking about?"

"You're about to find out." Twilight answered. "Let get into position!"

Without question, the girls aligned themselves in a circle, leaving me to stay by Twilight. Twilight closed her eyes with force and began activating her Element. The other Elements lit up and joined in as well. Lastly, the light from within me appeared as we all levitated from the ground. Closing my eyes and feeling the warmth within, all of the Elements bonded together strongly. Finally, a swirling rainbow formed at the center of our circle, and something unexpected appeared.

"Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap…" He sang as he apparently bathed in a bathtub.

"Discord…?" I questioned at his status.

"Ooh!" He laughed as he quickly wrapped himself with a towel. "Now, Twilight, you know Princess Celestia said that you were to give me a heads up before you summon me with that little spell she gave you." He tapped his paw on the tip of her crown. "In case you haven't noticed, I was in the middle of a particularly invigorating shower." The bathtub disappeared away with magic as he rubbed himself with the towel right in front of her.

Twilight sent a slight look of disgust and grew angry at his silly antics. "E-nough! Release Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and stop the Everfree Forest from invading!" She stormed towards Discord, causing him to back away slowly as held the ends of the towel behind his back.

"Why…" He laughed as he wrapped himself around Twilight as one of those ugly weed things first, and then turned himself back to normal. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"Don't you play dumb with us, Discord!" Applejack struck a hoof towards him. "We know you're the one behind all of this!"

Usually, I would have been so quickly persuaded that it was in fact Discord, but for some reason, I just still couldn't be convinced that he was the mastermind.

"Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love what you've done with the place," He mentioned as he took pictures all around. "But I couldn't possibly take responsibility. I'm reformed, don't you remember?" He nudged Fluttershy.

"Yeah, right! This has got your cloven hoofprints all over it!" Rainbow Dash furiously contested.

"I'll have you know that I have only one cloven hoof." Discord wittily corrected and then kicked her in the flank with such hoof before disappearing. "Such accusations." He reappeared walking away from us. "And here I thought we were friends."

"Drop the act, buster! We're onto you!" Pinkie Pie warned with eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Alright, hang on." I finally spoke after allowing the girls to have at it. "Normally, I would be with you all on this." I pointed out a hoof towards the irregular events happening in Ponyville. "I mean, it looks like Discord's name is all over this. But for some reason…I don't feel like he's really the suspect here. For some reason…it just doesn't really seem to fit or connect to me…"

"Your dear friend, Prince Alex, is right." Discord spoke, grabbing me and holding me up with the lion part of his body before I could attest to my opinion any further. "I'm innocent!" He messed with my mane with his fist of a claw. "Would he lie to you?"

"Don't bring him in this!" Twilight pointed out defensively. "We know you would!"

"Well then…" He released me to the ground, feeling offended. "It seems we've reached an impasse. I'm telling the truth, but you think I'm lying. What do friends like us do in a situation like this, Princess Twilight?" However, he placed his paw around Twilight. "Congrats, by the way, on the promotion. You totally deserve it." I couldn't exactly tell if he was being sarcastic or not…

"I say we blast him back to stone!" Rainbow Dash offered bluntly.

"Works for me!" Applejack heavily agreed.

"Hear, hear!" Rarity added.

The three of them began activating their Elements until Fluttershy intervened.

"Hey! We can't do that! What if he really is telling the truth?" She directed to Discord, who was once flinching but then placed an innocent halo above his head.

"Yeah. It's Discord." I included my statement on the matter. "Now that I think of it, if Discord was to do something like this, I'd figured it'd suit more to his 'fun' style than creepy and evil from the Everfree Forest." I pointed around. "Remember the cotton candy clouds raining chocolate rain?" I reminded.

Pinkie Pie slurped and drooled at the idea. "Best. Rain. Ever."

"If Discord was going to mess around with Ponyville, I'd figure he'd do it in a way to amuse himself." I continued.

"Exactly!" Discord approved. "These two ponies have the right idea." He mentioned as he brought the two of us together. "The rest of you could learn a lot about friendship from my dear friends Shutterfly and Alex here."

"Um…it's Fluttershy…" Fluttershy corrected quietly.

"Oh, right, whatever." Discord quickly dismissed.

"If you're not the one responsible, then help us figure out who is!" Twilight demanded.

"I suppose I could, but after all the hoof pointing and besmirching of my good name, I just don't know if I'm up to it." He refused and brought out a couple of knitting needles, using the slithering dark vines to knit with.

"Rrrgh!" Twilight expressed angrily.

"Why don't you ask your zebra friend if she knows anything?" He suggested, actually knitting an arrow that pointed nearby.

There, we saw Zecora hauling a large amount of things behind and on her.

"Zecora!" Twilight called out, happy to see her. We all rushed towards her to confront her.

Most likely due to the weight on her, she stopped in her tracks with her hooves falling forward. Twilight used her magic to detach the large bag of her things while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash carried them off. I worked on removing the cart so she could finally stand up to speak with us. "From my home, I have had to flee! The forest has grown too wild, even for me!"

"Any idea why all this is happenin'?" Applejack asked until one of the weeds from the forest snapped off her hat from the top of her head.

"I'm afraid it is a mystery to me as well, but I may have something that, if combined with a spell..." She answered and walked over to her cart to retrieve something. "I do not dare to use it myself." She stated as she presented a vial with purple liquid inside. "The results would be tragic. It only responds to Alicorn magic." She directed to Twilight and me. "Princess Twilight and Prince Alex, you can turn the potion from purple to white. After a sip, you may see why the sky is day and night." She displayed overhead.

Twilight and I shared a look between another and then nodded. We both began working our magic together and caused them to collide and blend to enter the potion. It wasn't easy as any other spell. It took some time and concentration, but we were able to succeed, making the potion transform into a pure white color. Huh…

"Oooh!" Pinkie Pie expressed in awe.

Standing right by Twilight's side, she raised the vial in front of her head. She looked over to me a little worriedly.

"I'll drink it as soon as you do." I offered, hoping to comfort her in the chances we experience whatever happens together.

She looked back at it as Zecora nodded in confidence. Then, Zecora used her head to lift the potion up to Twilight's lips. Twilight immediately began drinking for a good amount of time and then stopped. I quickly used my magic to bring the vial over to me and took in the same amount as she did. Just as I finished, Twilight licked her lips, waiting for something to happen.

"…Doesn't seem to be worki—"

She was cut off in mid-sentence before her eyes became pure white.

Shortly after, my eyes were blinded by light.


Twilight


I shook my head to try to figure out what happened. I looked around to find myself in a completely different area. Somewhere I don't recall ever being in before…

"Where are we—" I asked before I suddenly realized someone was missing. "Alex!" I looked around desperately. "Alex, where are you?!"

I tried to move forward until I heard another voice boom behind me.

"Not... another step!"

I looked towards the source of the sound to find Princess Luna revealing herself in front of me.

"Princess Luna!" I cried out, hoping she could help me. "I don't understand." I told her as I walked towards her and sat down. "Where are we? Why did you and Celestia disappear?"

"Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?" Princess Luna questioned angrily, seeming to ignore my questions.

"Precious light?" I repeated in confusion.

"There can only be one princess in Equestria!" She shouted out as she moved over to a piece of wall that was a part of the stairs. "And that princess... will be me!" She emphasized her rage by smashing the same piece into millions of other pieces. The force of the blow led a huge crack to form from beneath her and towards the wall behind her. A large shadow began forming at the same area. A large piece of the wall behind her broke off, revealing the bright sun and causing me to flinch greatly.

Princess Luna began raising herself in mid-air, using her magic for some reason. Then, I realized that she was moving the moon behind her to directly block out the sun! It was a full eclipse! Suddenly, these wisps of darkness began surrounding Princess Luna and enveloped her in total darkness. I had no idea what was going on, and before I knew it, she transformed into something completely different!

She cackled fearfully as she presented her new monstrous self. I could only stare in total shock as I observed this. I didn't know what else to do but step back. However, the expression on her face changed into an angry one. She immediately shot out magic from her horn and directed it at the ceiling. I looked up to notice large pieces of the building coming down my way, instantly having me jump out before I could get hit.

As I recovered from my dive, I noticed another pair of hooves appear before me. I looked up to see that it was Princess Celestia! She rose in the air to only be attacked by Luna, but she was able to dodge it just in time. The attack broke yet another part of the ceiling, revealing the moonlight inside.

"Luna!" I cried out, attempting to reason with her. "Think of how long you were banished to the moon! You'll give us no choice but to send you back there if you don't stop!"

"Luna, I will not fight you!" Princess Celestia spoke sternly behind me. "You must lower the moon! It is your duty!"

"Luna?" She questioned. "I am... Nightmare Moon!" My eyes gave into worry after hearing this familiar name. "I have but one royal duty now: to destroy you!" She shot out another powerful laser towards Celestia, causing her to jump and flee away. "And where do you think you're going?"

Seeing Nightmare Moon fly off, I quickly sprung to my hooves and took off after them. Nightmare Moon desperately attempted to harm Celestia, but Celestia could only dodge these beam of magic as if there was nothing else she could do. This harmful magic landed at the sides of buildings and even destroyed a supporting arch! I had to quickly fly around the falling debris to avoid being hit. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from chasing the two sisters.

However, it wasn't long before I heard the shrieking sound of Celestia's scream. Nightmare Moon had struck her and she was falling back into the castle hall I was previously in. "Celestia!" I quickly cried out and raced towards her. The echo of Nightmare Moon's evil laughter echoed behind me. I landed in front of Celestia's motionless body and was deeply shocked. I tried to raise out a hoof to her, but quickly retracted it towards my mouth. My heart was aching terribly at the horrible sight I had to witness.

"No..." I expressed as my eyes brimmed with tears. "Why would Luna do this?" I asked, even though no pony was there to answer. My tears were now flowing out freely and hitting the floor. "Why now?" Feeling completely isolated and alone, I began to cry. I had never felt so horribly miserable. Where was he? I needed him… I needed him so badly… "Alex?" I called out, hoping so desperately that he would just somehow appear by my side to comfort me. "Alex… Where are you…?" My voice broke a little every now and then as I sniffled. "Please…"

I need you.

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