Twilight had arrived on the other side of the plateau where the Castle of The Two Sisters stood from the ravine that was home to the Tree of Harmony, now all that remained of the once proud and majestic castle was the walls of the castle’s library. Twilight was still ways from Zecora’s hut, but she froze, she felt something was wrong. She could barely sense Spike’s familiar end of their link, it was not so much severed as if it was being suppressed. She had a similar sensation with regards to her psychic links to her friends that they got from the Elements of Harmony. She had to get to Magiville as quickly as possible. She closed her eyes and tried to focus, the outskirts of Magiville, just on the Magiville side of the Everfree Forest. “I can do this,” she said to herself as she took a deep breath and focused on her destination. After her magic hummed around her for a second, she reached her destination in an instant, “See! Ha! Perfectly controlled teleportation–” Twilight started only to be cut short as the magic acted up and she was teleported to be in a crag in a large boulder a little closer to town. She growled in frustration, wanting to actually control her power, but it seemed that every time she managed to take a step forward it was as if she was forced ten steps back. She could come to one conclusion, having the magic of more than one demi-deity in one vessel meant that a level of focus and control no magic user could hope to see in any ordinary or extraordinary lifetime could hope to see was needed. That would take time to practice; time which she didn’t have.
“Princess Twilight!” She heard roaring.
She knew who it was, even with not having met him or heard his voice as it was, but she knew. She gasped in terror, “Tirek!”
“You have something that belongs to me!” Twilight heard as she tried to teleport away only for her to end up right in front of Tirek. The spellthief was much younger than Twilight expected but she knew who he was in an instant and started to fly away. “You're going to give me what I want!” Tirek roared as he tried to blast Twilight. He missed as Twilight managed to get to the Golden Oak. Once there she looked out her telescope on the balcony off of her room. She witnessed Tirek turn towards her with an ever-growing ball of orange and black magic and prepared to aim it at the Golden Oak.
Twilight gasped as rushed into the tree to get Owlowiscious, and just as the blast hit the Golden Oak, Twilight teleported out of the tree with Owlowiscious, screaming as the two were forced further forward due to the explosion that struck the Golden Oak. Twilight was able to shield Owlowiscious as she fell to the ground. After the landing, she got to her feet and turned back to look at the Golden Oak, she gasped in horror. The once great tree’s trunk was blasted open, the content housed therein were either destroyed or scattered throughout the area, some on fire. Her home, the greatest wealth of knowledge in Magiville, the city’s oldest resident… was dead. Witnessing this… murder… broke Twilight. She started to breathe in an attempt to collect herself, but while tears of sorrow were shed, she was gritting her teeth in wrath. She let go of Owlowiscious, the bird didn’t need to be told to find somewhere to hide. She turned around to see Tirek walk towards town. At that moment in the window of Vinyl’s half of the house she shares with Octavia, a song the disc jockey would play at a metal rock-themed club started. During the first twenty seconds of the song, which had no lyrics, Twilight’s hair started to crackle, her eyes flashed white, she bobbed her head up and down until she roared looking to the sky. Her eyes lost all their color save for the irises. The purple of her irises took over the rest of her eyes and started to glow. Her hair became wavy and floated like Celestia’s and Luna’s, with what seems to be white stars in it. “THIS IS OVER, TIREK! AND ALL OF MYSTICA WILL BEAR WITNESS TO IT!!” she roared as she charged Tirek, casting a spell on her and him that would show to the whole of Mystica their duel.
‘I see the golden era hath gone
Fimbulwinter now hath come
Oh signs of fate the ravens know
Dark greed will take the brother's breath
I see kinships struck by death
Hear the howlings of the wolf asound
Axe- and sword-age
Shields are cleft
Wind- and wolf-age
The serpent rais'd its head
Ragnarök
See the earth go up in flames
Ragnarök
The great serpent writhes in rage
The doom of gods now hath come
The fall of the sun
The gates of Hel devour the dead
At the twilight of the gods’, The first verse of the song played as Twilight struck Tirek at full speed as she forced him into the heart of the Starplains. Once there she drove Tirek into the ground and pulled back. Lifting her arms into the air as she pulled as seemed to instantly pull rawr solar plasma in the form of a pillar and blasted Tirek with it. After it was spent, Tirek tried to get back up only to be knocked back down Twilight after she encased herself in what looked like a blue crystalline heart. Once he on his back, Twilight took hold of the sides of his head and roared before she fell back and semi-corporeal images of gargoyles, dragons, and other monsters, most of where the jailors of Tartarus, appeared and started attacking Tirek. All the while Twilight didn’t let up her own assault striking Tirek with fire, acid, electricity, frost, and other such forces affiliated with the four primal elements.
There was a twenty-second break in the lyrics as Tirek was able to form a shield and forced Twilight back destroying the illusions she conjured, “Now I understand what your fellow princesses have done!” Tirek commented as he saw images of Celestia, Luna, and Cadance surrounding Twilight before converting into lights that surrounded her.
“Slow on the update, aren’t you?” Twilight asked as she charged at Tirek, the golden light of the sun, the argent light of the moon, and the crystalline blue light of the Crystal Heart, were harmonious with her own stellar purple light surrounding her as the lyrics started up again.
‘I see dark crowds of Muspelheim
Ride across the field, their swords aflame
Loudly the Gjallarhorn atones
Valhalla's gates stand open wide
Helm Bearer's sons prepare to strike
The final war, the spear is thrown
Stars now vanish
Sun turns black
Rising steam
Oh Midgård stands aflame
Ragnarök
See the earth go up in flames
Ragnarök
The great serpent writhes in rage
The doom of gods now hath come
The fall of the sun
The gates of Hel devour the dead
At the twilight of the gods,’ All the while the two went at each other, back and forth, but unlike the start of the fight, Tirek was able to stand his ground and counter Twilight, even though she still had flight, he was not caught off guard even able take her by her throat and slam her into ground. All the while the Starplains were ravaged as the two’s magic tore the land apart, plowing to close to the actual ground and craters were made. Just as the lyrics stopped and a minute fifteen second long instrumental began, Tirek had Twilight by her throat and prone against the ground, “First Shining Armor, then Blueblood, Celestia, Luna and Mi Amore Cadenza, and now, finally, you. It’s a pity you Mystican royals fail so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now. But in all seriousness, why throw your life away so recklessly?” Tirek asked as he tried to choke Twilight as he straddled her.
Twilight pooled a great ball of magic right in front of her chest more or less ignored by Tirek, “That’s a question you should ask yourself, Tirek.” Twilight fired her spell at Tirek send him flying allowing her to get back up and get her breath before renewing the battle.
Back and forth the two combatants fired their magic at each other, each evading, deflecting, and countering the other’s attack even as the lyrics of the song started up again and well into the verse, ‘Stars now vanish
Sun turns black
Rising steam
Oh Midgård stands aflame
Ragnarök
See the earth go up in flames
Ragnarök
The great serpent writhes in rage
The doom of gods now hath come
The fall of the sun
The gates of Hel devour the dead
At the twilight of the gods’, at the second to last line, “AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!!!” Twilight and Tirek shouted as their spells collided with each other and as the lyrics ended the spells imploded upon each other.
As the last twenty seconds of the song’s instrumentals ended, the two stood in the ravaged and destroyed area of the Starplains, both panting slightly. Tirek could tell that he was not going to overpower Twilight to gain her magic ever, and with his own, it would take Twilight almost forever to beat him. He also saw that all options more or less would lead the two back to this point. “It appears we are at an impasse,” he stated. Twilight only scowled at him, it was clear she agreed with him but was far from happy about it. She then started pool magic in front of her in order to start the battle anew. Seeing how the Mysticans act Tirek had a plan, it was a gamble, as big of a gamble as trying to use a silver tongue on Discord. “How about a trade, Princess Twilight?” Twilight was unmoved by this if she was, she was willing to go harder, the difference in power between her and Tirek was in her favor and a joke compared to the difference when she first faced the Tantabus. Tirek then snapped his fingers and a series of seven bubbles appeared, in each were one of her closest friends, Spike, and Discord. Twilight gasped in horror as her hair and eyes returned to normal. “Their release for all the demigod magic in Mystica.” Twilight gasped seeing her friends were at the mercy of this… demon and the Faustian bargain he offered. Everyone, even Discord tried to shout various protests, but all of it was muffled by the bubbles. “What's it going to be, Princess?”
“Don't do it, Twilight!” Rainbow pleaded Twilight not agree to Tirek’s terms, her voice muffled by the bubble she was in.
Fluttershy also consoled against agreeing to the deal, “We aren't worth it!”
“Oh, but you are, Fluttershy.” Discord countered, “You're the one that taught me that friendship is magic. In fact, all of you did, and I threw it away and for what?” this wasn’t really a question he wanted to be answered in his sorrowful state, “I had magic and friendship, and now I don't have either.”
“Enough!” Tirek roared, causing the seven bubbles to quake mid-air, “I want an answer, and I want it now!”
There was a moment of silence, save the blowing of the wind as Twilight saw each of the bubbles flash a color, the one Applejack was in flashed orange, the one with Fluttershy flashed yellow, the one with Rainbow Dash flashed cyan, the one with Rarity flashed alabaster, the one with Pinkie flashed pink, the one with Spike flashed purple, with the one with Discord flashed the whole rainbow of those colors. Twilight’s eyes then flashed the same rainbow. After a moment thought she knew what she had to do, “I will give you my magic, in exchange for my friends.” Everyone, even Discord gasped at the decision.
Tirek smiled as he clapped his hands,“As you wish.” All the bubbles popped and then everyone seemed to float to the ground, save the one for Discord. The six that were free walked over to Twilight, she could see how to breaking they were.
However, there was still one more to account for. Twilight turned back to Tirek, “You haven’t honored your end, Tirek. Release, All of my friends.”
Tirek was taken aback at that statement, he could not fathom how or why Twilight would still call Discord a friend in spite of despite everything that he had done to enable to allow Tirek’s rise to his current state, “After his betrayal, you still count him as such?”
“Don’t do it Twilight!” Discord shouted, “Leave me to my fate. You can still fight him. Without Fluttershy and the others, he has no leverage over you. Even with my powers, he is still not your equal!”
“Quiet!” Tirek said as he snapped his fingers and Discord was shocked with orange and black lightning.
After a second of seeing Discord contort and writhe in pain, screaming all the while, Twilight scowled having had enough, “Release him!”
Tirek snapped his fingers stopping the shocking, and turned to Twilight, “If that's what you want.” he clapped his hands and the bubble popped as Discord came crashing down with a resounding thud. Tirek then threw Discord to land at Twilight’s feet, however, Twilight caught him in her magic and placed him on his feet.
“I am sorry, everyone…. I am so sorry…” Discord wept shedding real tears as he fell to his knees. In a weakened and broke tone, he looked to Twilight, “Thank you, Twilight.”
“Your turn,” Tirek said
As Twilight prepared to have her magic drained, “NNNOOO!!!” Discord shouted as he got to his feet and tackled Tirek to the ground. “YOU WILL NOT HAVE HER’S TOO!” The depowered Erisadies assaulted the spellthief in a clearly desperate attempt to stop him. But Tirek not only had enough magic to go toe-to-toe with the consolidated power of four demigods, he was by far the most physically powerful person in Mystica. With almost no effort, Tirek took hold of Discord’s neck with his left hand and began choking the avatar of Chaos as he got back to his own feet.
Tirek then threw Discord into the girls, knocking to the ground Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity., he then took out his staff and pointed it at Twilight. “Enough!” A beam of orange magic and began to the magic in Twilight out of her, including the magic given to her by Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Twilight screamed all the while as Tirek absorbed the magic roaring “YES!” as he started to again age backward to be like a man in his mid-twenties. On Twilight’s end, she fell to the ground and as she rose her irises were gray, having lost so much color and her eyes appeared dead.
Tirek left the group laughing in victory as everyone tried to comfort Twilight with embraces, Discord spoke up, “Tirek tricked me into believing that he could offer me something more valuable than friendship, granted I have never invested as much as I should have in our friendships. As I treated it as little more than a series of obligations.” Discord then took off the necklace and amulet. “But now I see that there is nothing worth more.” Looking at the amulet, “He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of fraternity, gratitude, and loyalty between the two of us” He then placed the amulet around Twilight’s neck. “I know it is almost of no comfort if any, but when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship, I sincerely believe that I am telling you the truth.” The amulet then flashed much like the coin that Silver Shill gave Applejack, the Wonderbolt pin Spitfire gave Rainbow Dash, the rubber chicken Cheese Sandwich gave Pinkie Pie, the spool of thread Coco Pommel gave Rarity and the flower Seabreeze gave Fluttershy. “I think this is the last key.” Discord commented. “I guess I was helpful after all.”
“We have to get to the chest,” Twilight said as she held the amulet and then started to the chest and the five other girls gave various agreements before following.
Spike and Discord remained behind, the two turned to Tirek as he was walking away, “Buy the girls time to unlock the chest?” Discord asked turning to the dragon.
Spike exhaled some fire, “It’s not much, but I still got my fire breath. Yeah. Let’s do it.” The two turned to look at Tirek, then back to each other gulped and charged.
After they arrived at the box at record-breaking speed, “How did we get here so fast, it was like one second ago we were in the Starplains and now we’re here?” Rainbow asked.
Pinkie’s hair seemed to fizzle and fuzz, “What do you know? I had some leftover magic after all.” Pinkie’s hair then deflated like a popped balloon as all of the items in Pinkie’s hair fell out of it and her pockets burst to empty themselves of their contents too. “Well, it looks like that’s the last bit of magic I have.” No one pressed the matter, having long ago realized that to do so would compromise their sanity.
Twilight placed the amulet Discord gave her on the box and it changed to be a golden lever-lock key like the other five, with its bow theme being the large purple star and white star of her aura mark and its shaft like a wizard's staff. The new key then went into the empty keyhole. Twilight then tried to turn her key, but it didn’t turn. Swiftly realizing that they had to open the box by turning the six keys...“Together! I think we have to do this together!” The others all grabbed the end of their respective key and the six turned the keys at the same time, opening the chest.
The top of the box opened not unlike a flower blooming and six sets of lights launched from it to show six young women, one was an Earthborn druid, dressed much like Fluttershy, but she had a stylized posey as her aura mark in lieu of a butterfly. One was an elementalist Skyborn she was dressed very much like Rainbow Dash but her garb was clearly of an older style covering her arm fully covered and wearing a long skirt, her hair was blue and was done in a high ponytail with her pin being a set of three blue lightning bolts. Another was a Skyborn with blonde hair and dressed in a white version of what Pinkie wore, with three purple balloons in lieu of the one yellow and two blue balloons. The next was an Earthborn woman much like Applejack but dressed in the robes of a cleric in lieu of the bronze and red leather paladin armor with a whole symbol of her belt that was a quill and a needle with her aura mark being an apple pinned to her chest. Next was a Magic born dressed in a long gown not unlike Rarity but her gown was a shade of light blue, her hair had a long dark red streak, her tiara had four kites much like Rarity’s own. The last was a Magicborn that looked like Twilight before her ascension, her hair was white with a purple streak and her aura mark was a five-pointed star. Upon each group seeing the other they all gasped at the uncanniness of their similarity. “NO WAY!” Surprise and Pinkie Pie said in unison, as they started to mirror each other in a very comical manner.
“Who are you?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I am Firefly, the cleric is Applejack, Posey’s the druid, Sparkler’s in the dress, Twilight is the one with the staff and Surprise is the one playing mirror with…”
“That’s Pinkie, I am Rainbow Dash, the paladin is Applejack too, Rarity has the tiara and white dress, Fluttershy is our druid and Twilight Sparkle is the demigod.” Rainbow Dash informed.
"You must be the namesake of the coolest Wonderbolt?" Pinkie asked Surprise.
"You mean Firefly's pipedream actually got off the ground?" Surprise asked in turn. Pinkie nodded. "Tell me more, tell me more! Did I have children and grandchildren, I always wanted to name a son or grandson Holder Colbalstone and or Tanzanite Thrower," Surprise couldn't contain herself, neither could Pinkie.
“Surprise, we don’t have time for this.” the cleric Applejack said speaking with a voice that sounded like the paladin Applejack but without the drawl. Surprise and Pinkie stopped, “So why did you unlock the box?” the cleric said turning to Applejack.
“Tirek escaped Tartarus, and he has the power of four demigods, an avatar of one of the primal alignments…” the demigod Twilight started.
“The Rainbow of Light is the only thing that can stop him,” the Twilight from the chest answered. “It’s the only thing that ever could. We cannot use it because we are more or less… well dead.”
“So how do we use it?” Twilight asked.
“We merge, temporarily,” Sparkler answered, sounding like Rarity, minus the poshness.
“But how does it work?” Fluttershy asked.
“The Rainbow of Light pulls all the magic Tirek has. Exactly how, we don’t have the time to tell you. Perhaps, after all, is done.” Posey offered. “But we can say that once you use it, a part of you will become part of the Rainbow of Light and will reside within it with us.”
The six that turned the keys looked at each other unsure for a minute, “We took a gamble with the Elements of Harmony.” Pinkie said. The rest nodded and turned to face the six specters they released.
“Let’s do it.” Twilight declared.
Surprise smiled as she reached into the pile of stuff that was in Pinkie’s hair and pockets. “It’s in here some… got!” The spectral jester then pulled out the portable stereo Pinkie and Lemon used during the gymnastics square off over the Element of Laughter. She popped over the part with a cassette player, flipped the cassette around and closed it. “We good!” she declared as she pressed the play button and the song recorded on that side of the cassette started. ‘You got the touch
You got the power’
As the next ten seconds of the song played mostly as an instrumental, the twelve paired off. As the lyrics started again,‘After all is said and done
You've never walked, you've never run,
You're a winner.’ As next set of lyrics were sung, the two Applejacks reach and took grabbed each other’s upper arm, and were consumed in an orange light to reveal the paladin, but she had two streaks of red and one pink in her hair and her gloves and boots had various stylized apples appear on them and her low ponytail was done with green ribbons.
‘You got the moves, you know the streets
Break the rules, take the heat
You're nobody's fool’ Rainbow Dash and Firefly chest bumped each other and were consumed by a cyan light to reveal Rainbow Dash but her hair was spiked up, her wings came from her back and has a rainbow-like coloration with purple at the end with red at the base, there seemed to various stylized lightning bolts of different colors tattooed on her body.
‘You're at your best when the goin' gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough’ Rarity and Sparkler took each other’s hands and were bathed in an alabaster light, once it was gone, Rarity remained, but she a light blue, lighter purple and yellow streak, with white rhombuses outlined in her hair.‘You got the touch
You got the power’ Fluttershy closed her eyes as she allowed Posey to come towards her and they were bathed in a yellow light only to fade to reveal Fluttershy with streaks of darker pink, off purple, earthy teal and metallic teal in her hair. Her ethereal wings came out of her back and while mostly yellow, the tips had stylized purple hearts in them and her dress was covered in stylized butterflies. ‘When all hell's breakin' loose
You'll be riding the eye of the storm’ Pinkie and Surprise dove at each other were bathed in a pink light only to reveal Pinkie Pie, but she had a blue bow with a five-pointed star in it, her hair had streaks of yellow, orange and blue and her shoes and gloves were yellow and covered with balloons. ‘You got the heart
You got the motion’ Finally the two Twilights embraced each other, in a purple light. Once the light faded, the demigoddess was the one that remained. In her hair were two more pink streaks, and a yellow one, her attire was littered with stars that matched her aura mark. ‘You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch’, the six looked at each other and nodded before they jettisoned back to the Starplains to confront Tirek.
As the next part of the lyrics started, ‘You never bend, you never break
You seem to know just what it takes
You're a fighter’, Tirek threw Discord and Spike to the ground. The dragon and Erisadies were battered and looked to be on the verge of death, just one more strike and they were finished. “It was a commendable effort, but futile nonetheless,” the spellthief roared and prepared to finish the two off. But before he blasted by a solid rainbow of orange, yellow, cyan, alabaster, pink and purple. ‘It's in the blood, it's in the will
It's in the mighty hands of steel
When you're standin' your ground’ As the recovered from the first attack, “How is this possible?!” The spellthief questioned seeing Twilight et al were bearing wielding the power of the Rainbow of Light, “You have no magic!”
‘And you never get hit when your back's to the wall
Gonna fight to the end and you're takin' it all’.
“You're wrong, Tirek! Twilight Sparkle may have given her demigod magic, but we carry within us the most powerful magic of all! A magic you have failed to best before! A magic that will best you time and time again!” Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie said not only in their own voices but in six voices Tirek thought he never hear again, Twilight of Dream Valley’s voice came from Twilight’s mouth, Applejack the Cleric came from Applejack’s, Sparkler from Rarity, Firefly from Rainbow Dash, Posse from Fluttershy and Surprise from Pinkie Pie, in addition, he heard the thirteenth voice of all twelve that have used the Rainbow of Light against him. “THE RAINBOW OF LIGHT: FRIENDSHIP!!!”
‘You got the touch
You got the power’
‘When all hell's breakin' loose
You'll be riding the eye of the storm’ Rainbow Dash readied her bow, Applejack her sword, Pinkie her mallet, Rarity a small away of gem-shaped magical missiles, Fluttershy changed her form into a dragon that scales matched her dress with spines along her back that were colored like her hair and Twilight pooled a part of the Rainbow of Light in front of her as if to fire upon Tirek. ‘You got the heart
You got the motion’ Twilight and Rarity fired their magic at Tirek, As Fluttershy breathed not fire up another Rainbow of Light and Rainbow let loose an arrow that looked like the magical blasts and fire sent at Tirek. ‘You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch’ Applejack and Pinkie Pie closed the distance, Applejack’s blade and the head of Pinkie’s mallet were like their friends own ‘weapons’.
‘You're fightin' fire with fire’, Tirek roared and screamed in pain as he struck by each of the girl’s attack, notice that instead of spilling his blood, the wounds allowed the magic he stole to be drawn to them. ‘You know you got the touch’, Desperately he tried to close the wounds and pull the magic back, but they didn’t let up the assault, causing him to scream in pain as he began to rapidly age and grow sickly and frail.
“THIS TIME TIREK, YOU’RE NOT COMING BACK! TO KERBEROS WITH YOU! The group said as they sent a blast of the Rainbow of Light to the ground under Tirek’s feet, ‘You're at your best when the road gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough’
‘You got the touch
You got the power’ As the song ended, Tirek screamed as the portal to Tartarus was opened under him and he fell in. He landed in the cage Discord put him in. But it was opened at the top and he looked up to see a growling and snarling Kerberos, with all the snakes that inhabited its fur hissing at him. At the same time Cadance, Luna, and Celestia were allowed to exit, having been freed by the Rainbow of Light.
“And Tirek is done! YEAH!” Rainbow Dash cheered as the portal to Tartarus closed.
“So what do we do now?” Fluttershy asked after she returned to her human form, as everyone started to join Rainbow Dash in her cheering over their victory.
“Perhaps return to us and the rest of Mystica the magic Tirek stole,” Luna suggested earning a few nervous laughs from Twilight et al.
“I FEEL ANOTHER SONG COMING ON!!!” Pinkie screamed with great cheer as the sound of as another musical started more or less out of nowhere. But before any of the six could question it they more or less transformed into The Rainbow of Light and circled around Celestia, then Luna, then Cadance. Each princess regaining her aura mark, her wings began to move, her wounds healed and her magic restored.
Twilight’s voice was heard as the lyrics of the song started, “Each one of us has something special
That makes us different, that makes us rare,” as the Rainbow of Light then went to Spike and Discord, the dragon body flash the purple of his scales as he regained his draconic magic, as Discord’s form changed to his original form able to manipulate reality in his ‘normal’ way.
“We have a light that shines within us
That we were always meant to share.” Fluttershy’s voice took over as the Rainbow flew towards Magiville namely Sweet Apple Temple, to restore the residents there first.
After splitting into six rainbows upon arriving at the Temple, all six began to sing, “And when we come together
Combine the light that shines within
There is nothing we can't-do
There is no battle we can't win,” all the while they restored the magic taken by Tirek to each person much like Spike, Discord and the princesses. They continued to sing as each of them headed towards the rest of Mystica. “When we come together
There'll be a star to guide the way
It's inside us every day.” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy headed towards the various Skyborn dominated cities, such as Cumula and Las Magus.
“See it now! See it now!” Pinkie Pie and Applejack headed to cover the move Earthborn dominated cities like Appleloosa, Dodge Junction.
“Let the rainbow remind you
That together we will always shine
Let the rainbow remind you
That forever this will be our time.” Twilight and Rarity headed to several other cities, namely Manahatten and the capital of Chantalot.
“Each one of us will sometimes falter
We may stumble, we may fall.” Twilight sang as the rainbow she circled around and resorted the magic of everyone in Chantalot, the focus being her brother Shining and of all people Blueblood.
“But we still have a kind of magic
One that will see us through it all” Rarity’s voice is heard singing as she paused around the various residents of Manahatten before heading off.
All six started singing again as they headed towards other cities, the residents of Magiville, the other three princesses, Discord was looking at the remains of the Golden Oak, failing to restore and resurrect the tree, began working on a new home for Twilight.“And when we come together
Combine the light that shines within
There is nothing we can't-do
There is no battle we can't win.”
“When we come together
There'll be a star to guide the way
It's inside us every day.
“See it now! See it now!
Let the rainbow remind you
That together we will always shine
Let the rainbow remind you
That forever this will be our time.” As the six continued to sing and travel more and more of Mystica returning the magic Tirek stole, each, save Twilight, taking a focus on the person that gave them their key, in Fluttershy’s case actually going into the Breezie’s mound. All the while more and more of Mystica’s citizens from the various cities, including from the technically autonomous city-state of Krystalopolies, came to Magiville. Each lending their help to the construction of a new castle. One for Twilight. As the castle took shape it resembled a crystalline tree that was slightly smaller than the castles in Chantalot and Krystalopolies with what looked like Twilight’s Aura Mark in its bough with a few balconies and such to give it a regal appearance. Inside, the castle, a set of seven thrones, one smaller than the other six, each of the larger six had one of Twilight’s and her five friends aura marks above them housing a wide array of memory gems as a chandelier was the remains of the Golden Oak. In the meantime, there was a mandolin solo to the song as the six Rainbows finished traveling all over Mystica returning all but Twilight’s, Applejack’s, Rarity’s, Fluttershy’s, Rainbow’s, Pinkie’s magic and merged as back into one Rainbow and flew towards the chest.
“Let the rainbow remind you
That together we will always shine.” Twilight sang as the Rainbow of Light transformed back into the six young women after they in the form of the Rainbow, reached the cave that housed the Tree of Harmony and the chest that housed the Rainbow of Light.
“Do we have to put it back?” Rainbow Dash asked as they walked or in her case floated the rest of the way to the chest and surrounded it.
“Sorry Sugarcube, but while wah used it as wah needed, it might be needed again, and like the Elements, it might need a chance tah recharge.”
Rainbow pouted, “Oh Dashie, don’t be like that.” Rarity countered, “If the Posey is right, a part of us will be added to the Rainbow of Light, and we can also relay a message too. Also since we’re going to write this down, and make sure the keys are easily accessible for any future users.” There were no further arguments as reluctantly they each placed their hands on their respective keys and the Rainbow of Light returned to the box as the six return to their normal state. The chest then closed and locked before the keys returned to each of them, Pinkie’s key turned back into Boneless, but his right leg wasn’t the regular orange but a rainbow of orange, yellow, cyan, alabaster, pink and purple, and floated to Pinkie before it was attached to her belt. Applejack’s key turned back into a coin, but instead of the golden color it was a rainbow of orange, yellow, cyan, alabaster, pink and purple, and instead of the usual Mystican flag and rendering of Celestia and Luna in profile, both sides had a stylized apple, then a hole form and a black cord that went through it allowing Applejack to wear it like an amulet. Rainbow’s key became the Wonderbolt pin again but instead of golden all over along the bolt of it was a rainbow of orange, yellow, cyan, alabaster, pink and purple, it then pinned itself on Rainbow’s shirt. Fluttershy’s key became the flower again, it was normal save for one pedal with was a rainbow of orange, yellow, cyan, alabaster, pink and purple as the flower seemed to merge with her hood right over her left ear. Rarity’s key became the spindle and then a shawl that was a rainbow like the actual thread with one small side being a rainbow of orange, yellow, cyan, alabaster, pink and purple perpendicular to the rest of shawl. Twilight’s key became Scorpan’s amulet again, but it was not as Discord gave her, it was now colored like all the other items. The chest was then pulled into the tree housing itself in the trunk under the Element of Magic.
As the six exited the Everfree Forest and looked at Magiville, they saw what looked like a purple crystalline tree shaped castle that rivaled the Chantalot Castle and the Crystal Castle of Krystalopolies, “Sweet Celestia! Are you all seeing what I'm seeing?” Rarity’s jaw almost fell to the ground as she asked. Everyone else nodded and gave various agreements as they too were dumbfounded.
“But... whose is it?” Twilight asked as the six continued to the castle, passing the dug in the pit that the Golden Oak was once planted in.
“Why, it’s yours, Princess Twilight.” came Celestia’s voice as the six finally arrived at the castle to see her, Luna, Cadance, all the people of Magiville, Discord, Spike and many others were taking a break as if they had been working on the castle. “We went for the tree look, it’s not the Golden Oak, but I am certain you can make it home,” Celestia said with a smile. Twilight took awhile to fully process everything as she walked into the castle with her friends as they looked it over. As the six looked at their thrones, with Owlowiscious perched on Twilight’s throne, “You've been wondering what you are meant to do as a princess. Do you know now?” Celestia asked getting Twilight’s attention.
Twilight stopped looking around her castle, to her friends, Discord, Spike, the other princesses, and the small army of the citizens of Mystica that were there. She thought about everything she had experienced since her ascension and coronation and she finally had her answer, “As a princess, I believe I have the power to spread the magic of friendship across Mystica and with any luck across the world. That is the role I am meant to have in our world! The role I choose to have! But I didn't defeat Tirek on my own – it took all of us to unlock the chest!” Twilight declared before she turned back to her friends, “I doubt I am meant to take this task on alone.”
“We just beat a guy with all the raw magical power of Mystica, we sealed Discord, freed Luna of Nightmare Moon’s hold, and so much more. We’re not leaving you now.” Rainbow declared as the others gave various agreements.
“Congratulations, Twilight Sparkle, Mystica’s Princess of Friendship. You have found your part.” Celestia said.
“You knew this would all happen didn’t you?” Twilight asked.
“Well, they do say, ‘there’s nothing new under the sun’.” Celestia joked.
Before Twilight could counter or press the matter, Discord in his post-reformation form was among the thrones, “Wait a minute, Spike has a throne! Where's my throne?!”
Fluttershy flew up to him and shook her head, “I don't think you're quite there yet.” she pointed out with a degree of patience most still wouldn’t show Discord.
Discord rubbed the back of his head and laughed, “Yes, well, I suppose not.”
“And I forgive you, Discord.” Fluttershy said more or less speaking for everyone else, “But you’re uninvited to the rest of this year’s book club meetings.” Discord gulped at that. Granted everyone knew it was a slap on the wrist, but Fluttershy has never uninvited anyone. Earning a slight chuckle from everyone else.
“Oh before I forget,” Celestia said as she took a handful of acorns out of one her pockets. “We could not save the Golden Oak itself,” Celestia then pointed above them indicating the remains of the Golden Oak, “but we able to find some its acorns. It will take it some time to be like its parent, but we already have books en route for the library that will be in the castle, in addition to everything else that was not recoverable.” Twilight accepted the acorns knowing she was being asked to plant them where the Golden Oak once stood.
At that moment, “Hey, where do I put the beehive?” Everyone looked to see Brighteyes with the beehive that clung to the Golden Oak, “They’re all fine, but really angry,” Twilight could not help but shed a tear with a smile on her face as she cast a spell that made a brach for the hive to be attached to on the outside of the castle. Twilight could tell this was a small gesture to help her adjust to her new home, but it was always the little things that mattered.
Epilogue
Back at the Tree of Harmony, a light made not only the Elements of Harmony, but the recently re-housed Rainbow of Light pulsated from the tree. That light, then toned down as it followed one of the many and ancient roots of the Tree, traveling towards the recently made Castle of Friendship. Once there the light traveled to the throne room and in the empty space that the thrones of Twilight et al encircled it flashed a roundtable, a blink and you’ll miss it flash. This went unnoticed as Twilight and her friends were looking elsewhere in the castle.
At the same time, late at night on the cliff that Twilight and her friends looked down at Midnight Castle and its adjoining city, three figures wearing long monastic black robes with hoods hiding most of their faces save for their feminine lips and chins. Around each of their necks was a necklace of a black cord with a ruby. The center of the three had a Treble clef with a light orange gem next to it embroidered on her robe, the one to her right had purple five-pointed star-shaped gem over a forte symbol and the one to her left had a heart with an eighth note stylized to have a slight lightning bolt theme. The center one spoke, “Well, well, well, look what we have here?” a faint green mist seemed to float from the city towards the three as their gems glowed the three laughing all the while. Before they started to sing, “Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh.”