To embrace a maternal star

by Lighting Ace


To save a prince…(edited)

As the elements try to release Kabuto yet again from his imprisonment, Princess Celestia looks at him with concern while holding her chest with her hand on a fist. A flash of light happen yet besides a weak glow on his body the statue remain intact.

The princess tight her grip and then look to the side in sadness

"I'm sorry princess," Twilight tells getting up with her friends all of them matching Celestia expression. "I don't know why but for some reason we can't break him free"

"Right! Why is this keep happening?!" Dash said in anger "Discord never was this hard to break free"

"Have to agree with Rainbow Dash here sugar cube, we had never had any problem with our elements before, I really don't understand why this one is different" Applejack answer.

"It's just like what happens to the other changelings, for some reason our powers don't work on them" Fluttershy add.

"Come on Kabuto! Wake up" Pinkie tells shaking the rock until Rarity pull her away

"Pinkie darling, although I appreciate the intention, I don't think that shaking him will help us, getting him out"

"She is right Twilight, what we need to do is figure it out why is that, that our necklace isn't working anymore," AJ tells looking at Twilight who sigh and nod "It's not that they are not working AJ, is that something is preventing them from work properly"

"What could possibly be able to do that?" AJ asks with a raised eyebrow

"I don't know that is why I send Starlight and Spike to search for clues while we were here. With any luck, they would have better luck than…"

Right on cue Starlight and Spike rush inside the throne room "Twilight, I think I found what the problem is"

"You did?" Twilight asked as both of them approach the group. Celestia paying close attention to what she wanted to say. "It's the elements, the elements are keeping the changeling and Kabuto petrified"

"Wait you are telling us that WE are the ones that are keeping them like that?" Dash asks incredulously

"I'm not the one that wants to keep him like that, I swear" Pinkie mention in panic

"Me neither" Fluttershy adds

"None of us want that darling I believed Starlight is talking about something else"

"Yeah exactly, when I say the elements I don't mean yours, well…maybe kind of like yours but not specifically you" She lights her horn and show a hologram showing all of Canterlot cover in what looks like a rainbow cloud. "I don't know why or how, but for some reason when I was scanning the area around the changelings I discover that remaining magic lingering in the air, this is just what is left of a spell that was used but somehow it's still strong enough to cast its power at full force"

"But…that is impossible only us could do something like that…and even if we did we couldn't do something that big"

"That is what is confusing me, its the power of the elements of harmony but not yours is way weaker than the power of your necklace, yet it had enough energy to make this"

"I see and tell me Starlight do you know what kind of spell is that cloud casting" Celestia ask with interest

She nods and end the spell "Its a petrification spell and for the looks of things, it works like the throne of Chrysalis but in reverse, instead of preventing anything but changeling magic to work, this one is affecting only changelings" She then cast an illusion of the statue and zoom in the arm who turns normal before returning to stone "The elements are working, its only that the spell is turning him right back to stone faster than you can use it. That is why it looks like it has no effect" She tells ending the spell "That also explains why the other changelings can't turn back from stone, we need to move them far away from the cloud if we want to free them…and its very possible that if Torak or any other changeling come here now, they will be turned into stone until the cloud dissipated"

"That is great Starlight now we know what cause, and what we can do about it, but I still don't get one thing, who could possibly cast that spell in the first place" Twilight ask in wonder

"You are looking at him," Celestia says looking down and putting her hand on Kabuto shoulder "Before being kidnap I saw how Kabuto was able to use the elements of harmony without the help of the necklace, in fact, his stingers resemble the tree of harmony" she confesses making everyone in the room gasp.

"But that is impossible!" Twilight exclaim

"When it comes to the elements few things are impossible Twilight," Celestia tell finally looking at her before turning to Starlight "He was the one that cast the spell using that same magic, that is why the power is weaker than the actual elements"

"That…that could explain, you told me that he stole some of your elements back in ponyville right?"

AJ and Dash grumble, while Rarity and Fluttershy just blush looking away in embarrassment as Pinkie just nod rapidly. "That is where he manages to obtain them"

The room is filled with some awkward silence until Spike breaks it "So…does that mean you can remove the cloud"

Twilight shakes her head "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that Spike, this is not a spell being cast, its what was left of a spell already cast, worse an element of harmony spell being cast, there are some methods of cleaning it but I don't know if it will work on them and it takes time"

"Ah, …how much time exactly?" Rarity ask out of curiosity

"Normal cases? like an hour, or two, a spell this strong and this big? I would say fifty to sixty" Starlight answer

"Hours?"

Starlight remains silent for a while "…years"

"YEARS?" The main six all yell in shock

"Like I say its really strong and its range it's extremely big, the image I show you weren't how big it was, it was how far I could track it…and I didn't even manage to reach the epicenter!"

They all look at her in shock "This blast could have easily cover Canterlot, Ponyville, and maybe the cities surrounded it…this place has turned into a cursed zone for all changeling race for a very long time"

"And because Kabuto is half changeling" Twilight turn back to see him "If we want to save him we will have to take him to the badlands and…"

"No!" Celestia said in tears while hugging Kabuto openly crying "I already banish a family member once I will NOT banish another loved one! not him, not my son…I will not let him go again"

The rest of the room remains quiet, not completely sure on what to do until Twilight decided to approach Celestia and pat her back "I'm sorry princess, but its the only way…we can't live for sixty years, if we don't send him to the badlands you will have to keep him like that until the elements choose new ponies to wear them, and that could take another thousand years, would that really be fair for you? or your son?"

"But I will never see him again" Celestia say wiping as the rest just look down in sadness

"I'm so sorry princess but its the only way, since he is a changeling he can't stay here"

Pinkie remain quiet until something click on her "What if he wasn't a changeling anymore?"

Everyone turns to look at her confused as she slowly smiles "Well he is a hybrid right? Thorax say that he used to be human until Chrysalis did something to him that transforms him into a changeling right? Well…what if we do something similar and make him complete human again" She then turns to Twilight "Like when you turn us into Breezies"

"Pinkie that is different, he is not only human he is also from another world I don't know what the spell can do to him I can't just change his race"

"But I can" Celestia say in realisation gaining the attention to everyone present "Well…not me alone of course, but if Luna and Cadence help me out, the three of us can change his attribute, like you said we can't alter his human part, but we CAN change his changeling part and turn it into something else!" She says with a smile before rushing to Pinkie and hugs her

"Pinkie you are a genius!"

Pinkie only giggle accepting the hug, "Glad that I could help"

"That could work, if he no longer is a changeling then the spell will not affect him, we can change him back with no problem!" Starlight says with a smile

"I'm not so sure, will this be safe?" Twilight asked with some worry.

"Do not worry Twilight, do you forgot who teach you that spell?" Celestia mentions releasing Pinkie "Besides I will have the aid of my sister and Cadence too, I can assure you, we know what we are doing"

Twilight still look a bit unsure but ultimately nod and look at the princess "Ok princess Celestia, if you say that is safe I will believe you" She then turns to the statue, "We can't just turn our backs on him now either, not when there is a way to help him"

"Je and I still need to give him a piece of my mind" Dash says getting serious

"Rainbow Dash! How could you say that?! Don't you remember? He was being used from the start the poor dear need support not being scolded" Fluttershy tells her

"Je I was just kidding," She says with a little chuckle

"Then its decided" Twilight says "If everyone is ok with it, we can move all the changelings and Kabuto to the Chrystal empire change them back there, and once the prisoners are secured and deliver to Thorax, all nine of us could work on turning Kabuto back" Everyone nod and Spike start to write "I will start making the letters to Princess Luna and Cadence right away"

"And we would help to prepare the trip," AJ says as she and the others elements exit the room leaving Celestia alone with Kabuto. She smiles and nuzzles her cheek with his own "Soon Jeremy, we will be a family again" She whispered closing her eyes as a lonely tear run throw her check