//------------------------------// // Requiem for a Nightmare. // Story: Comet The Colt of Steel // by Stallion of Steel //------------------------------// It had all come down to this moment. We had taken everything Nightmare Moon had thrown at us. From our most painful memories to our worst nightmares to even our heart's desires. This was where either she fell, or we did. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Nightmare's booming laughter echoed through the throne room. "FOALS! YOU ARE IN MY WORLD THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN RUN! NOWHERE YOU CAN HIDE!" "We aren't running and we aren't hiding Nightmare Moon!" I shouted defiantly. To which Nightmare let another laugh! "OH LITTLE PRINCE, STILL STUBBORN, GALLANT, AND STUPID TO THE END I SEE, VERY WELL I SHALL INDULGE YOU WITH ONE FINAL DEFEAT!" With that, the former alicorn let out a deafening screech that shattered the stained glass windows and shook the throne room like an earthquake. To my super hearing, it felt like nails on a chalkboard played through concert speakers. Apple Bloom's legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor desperately covering her ears. I wanted to help her, But my legs wouldn't move I could only stand there as the ultrasonic waves seemed to stab the inside of my head. "DID YOU THINK IT WOULD BE THAT SIMPLE?" Her voice boomed as she lifted me off the floor with her magic. With the callousness of a foal who'd grown bored with a toy, she threw me hard against the wall. Then ripped me out and did the same with the other. Then just for variety, she threw me up onto the ceiling. All the while cackling as she proceeded to use me like a telekinetic wrecking ball. "YOU SHOULD'VE STAYED IN YOUR HAPPY LITTLE FANTASY WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE!" She said as she threw me to the end of the hall. My thoughts went back to my life as an Earth Pony, the life I'd always wanted. No powers, no alien crystals, just me, Bloom, AJ, Mac, Granny Smith, Ma and Pa, and how it all turned out to be one big lie. Nothing more than a prison Nightmare had thrown me in to keep me out of her mane. I felt my blood beginning to boil, this witch had trapped me, tormented me, tried to brainwash me into believing her twisted fantasy, And to make it worse she had dragged Apple Bloom into her little game. She dared to mess with my family, my family? My thoughts raced back to Jav-El and Loran and how Nightmare had gotten them too. She just crossed the line. "Burn!" I roared as unleashed my heat vision onto her chest. Nightmare screamed in agony as her wings gave out. Her magic dissipated as she plummeted to the floor. This was the opening I had been looking for. With a burst of speed, I charged. My eyes burned red with fury as my hoof connected with her chin. The beast staggered as I followed up with a flurry of blows that slowly forced her back to the steps of her throne. "HAPPY? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU PUT ME THROUGH?" I screamed as continued to pound on her."WHAT YOU'VE TAKEN FROM ME!" I bucked out with my hind legs sending the monster crashing into her throne. "YESSSS, THAT'S IT!" She lisped as she looked up at me. Her face was beaten and bruised. Her right eye was almost swollen shut and her jaw had been dislocated to the left. "TELL ME MORE, HOW DID IT FEEL TO KNOW ESCAPE MEANT SACRIFICING THE LIFE YOU ALWAYS WANTED!" "You're about to find out," I hissed as I ascended the throne ready to finish the job. KRAKOW! Nightmare shot a bolt of lightning from her horn, but rather than aiming for me, she focused her shot on the ceiling which exploded in an avalanche of stone and iron. And it was seconds away from burying Apple Bloom. My face white with shock I raced under the falling debris and grabbed Apple Bloom by the collar. With no time to get us both out of the way, I threw her as far as I could before the ceiling buried me. Apple Bloom's POV. "Ugh..." What in tarnation was that? The last thing A'h remember was feeling like a swarm of bees was stinging the inside of my head. My legs gave out on me and after that, nothing. My ears were still ringing as A'h tried to stand up. A'h felt like a newborn foal trying to take my first steps as A'h tried to put together what had happened. "I'M CURIOUS, WHY IS IT YOU FEEL COMPELLED TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF TO PROTECT OTHERS?" A'h heard a familiar voice say. A'h looked up to see Nightmare Moon talking to a large pile of stones. "IS IT BECAUSE YOU THINK IT'S THE ONLY WAY THEY'LL ACCEPT YOU? OR PERHAPS YOU BELIEVE IT'LL MAKE THEM THINK OF YOU AS A HERO RATHER THAN AN OUTSIDER." Another flash of pain went through my head as A'h began to remember. "APPLE COMET!" Without thinking, A'h charged at Nightmare Moon. A'h was so fast she never even saw me coming. A'h charged head-first into her side knocking her off her hooves. But A'h didn't care about that, Apple Comet was in trouble and he needed my help. With strength that put Big Macintosh to shame, A'h lifted a large chunk of the ceiling like it was a hay bale and threw it aside. "Apple Comet, are you alright?" A'h asked as A'h dug him out of the rubble. "Be...behind you!" He shouted as A'h Suddenly felt myself being lifted off the ground. "IMPRESSIVE, YOU MANAGED TO CATCH ME OFF GUARD!" She laughed before slamming me hard against the floor. "A MISTAKE I WILL NOT MAKE TWICE!" "A'h ain't afraid of you!" A'h said defiantly as A'h stood up. To which Nightmare just laughed. "YOU WILL BE BY THE TIME I'M FINISHED WITH YOU." She said lunging for me. Her fangs gleamed like sharp knives. Fortunately, my new Koltonian brain was thinking thoughts faster than Mac's mathematics. A'h quickly thought up a plan. A'h dove under her legs as she landed and ran back towards the throne. "You'll have to catch me first!" A'h shouted. Nightmare Moon looked mighty angry as she turned around to see me sitting on her throne. "🎶Ah'm the Princess of the castle and you're a dirty...🎶 "GRRRR GET OFF MY THRONE!" She roared baring her fangs as she stomped over to 'my' throne. "What throne?" A'h asked innocently. "DO NOT TEST ME, CHILD, I AM IN NO MOOD!" "Aw shucks Nightmare, A'h ain't testing ya, Ah'm distracting ya." "DISTRACTING ME?" Her eyes suddenly went wide as she realized what A'h meant. ""UH-OH...WHUAAA!!!!" Nightmare screamed as she was suddenly yanked back and lifted into the air. Standing behind her, holding onto her tail with both forelegs was my brother, and boy was he not happy. "Let's see how you like being thrown around!" He said as he began to swing Nightmare around in circles. NO! PUT ME DOWN! I COMMAND YOU!" But Apple Comet didn't listen. Nightmare tried to fly away but my brother kept an iron hoof wrapped around her tail. They spun faster and faster until they were nothing more than a black and blue blur. "LET...ME...GOOOOOOO!" A'h was beginning to enjoy this "You want me to let you go?" Apple Comet asked sarcastically. "Okay," "WAIT DON'T AAAAUUUUUGGHHHH!" CRASH! With the monster alicorn's tail wrapped in his hooves, Apple Comet leaped through the hole in the ceiling. "So long Nightmare Moon," he said releasing her. Nightmare went flying like a fruit fly on an apple, Bam! Pow! Straight to the moon. "And don't bother writing." "That was amazing!" A'h exclaimed as Apple Comet floated back down. "Aw it was nothing," He said with a wave of his hoof. "What you did back there was amazing. I mean you stared down a monster that would make a grown stallion pee himself and laughed in her face." A'h suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. With super speed, A'h ran up to him and threw my forelegs around his neck. "Whoa, easy there remember you've still got my strength." "S-Sorry, Ah'm just glad you're okay." A'h sniffled loosening my grip while A'h buried my muzzle into his shoulder. "When A'h saw you up on that stage, saying how you were gonna give yourself up to Nightmare Moon. A-A'h thought A'h was never gonna see you again." For a moment he said nothing. He just stood there, holding me. "Apple Bloom, thank you for saving me." "Huh?" A'h opened my eyes in surprise. He continued. "I had been beaten down so low that I'd given up hope of ever escaping. I thought if I could at least save you then it wouldn't be so bad. But you stood up and did what I couldn't muster the courage to do. When you were offered a chance to escape you refused to leave me behind. When I had given up hope you lent me your strength. You're my hero, Apple Bloom, don't ever forget that." A'h suddenly felt speechless, here was my adopted brother, who could lift almost anything, run fast enough to appear invisible, and leap across an entire orchard with one jump thanking me for saving him. A'h felt overwhelmed with joy and excitement. "Oh, Apple Comet A'h...A'h...A'h" A'h broke down sobbing into his shoulder, the shock of everything we'd both been through being too much for me to keep cooped up. Apple Comet wrapped me in forelegs and began to shed tears of his own. "Ssh, It's okay," He whispered. "I understand, I was scared too. More than I've ever been in my life." We were both just happy to have each other after having been separated in Nightmare's illusion." After a few minutes, we managed to pull ourselves together. "So what do we do now?" A'h asked. "What do you mean?" Apple Comet said passing the question back to me. "A'h mean how do we get out of this place." A'h began to explain. "We beat Nightmare Moon, But we're still here." Suddenly A'h felt something hit my mane. A'h reached up to find a sprinkle of black sand in my hoof. A'h both looked up to see the ceiling disappearing before our eyes. "What's happening?" A'h asked as the walls started to disappear too. Their stones just seemed to turn into sand and blow away. "I think we broke the spell." Apple Comet said a smile creeping up his muzzle. "Without Nightmare Moon's presence, her illusions are falling apart." The light of the full moon quickly filled the room, not that there was much of a room left. The walls were almost gone by now leaving only the floor left. "Where are we?" A black starry desert stretched out before us. It's dunes twinkling like they were made of stars. Apple Comet scooped up a hooful of sand. "The Black Sand of Hyponos." He said with a look of dread as he dumped it back onto the ground. " "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" We looked up to see the shadow of Nightmare Moon silhouetted against the moon's surface. "FOALS! YOU THINK ME BEATEN SO EASILY?" She bellowed before disappearing into a cloud of smoke. "I AM DREAD!"A trail of starry magic jumped from the cloud and dove into the sand below. "I AM TERROR!" The ground began shaking violently, lifting the floor into the air. It felt like a mountain was rising from underneath us. Suddenly the enormous face of Nightmare Moon rose from the sands. "I AM NIGHTMARE MOON!" Apple Comet's POV ""HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" My jaw dropped in awe at the sight before me. The sandy form of Nightmare Moon towered above us like a living mountain. Her head eclipsed the moon behind her. Her eyes each one the size of the moon itself glared down at us. bathing us with their light. "NOW DO YOU SEE? NO MATTER HARD YOU FIGHT, YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME! NO MATTER HOW FAST YOU RUN, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME! NO MATTER WHERE YOU TURN, NO ONE CAN HELP YOU!" The floor below us moved closer to her face. I looked and gasped as I saw it was attached to her foreleg. What had once been the floor of her palace throne room was now small enough to fit in the frog of her hoof. "YOU ARE MERELY ANTS STRUGGLING AGAINST A GOD!" I stood petrified with fear, I wanted to shout, I wanted to leap into action, anything but stand there like a statue trying to draw flies. But as I looked into the behemoth's eyes I realized that it was futile. Even with all my power even with Apple Bloom fighting alongside me as my equal, how could I possibly hope to vanquish something of this size and power? "I CAN SEE FROM YOUR SILENCE THAT YOU HAVE FINALLY ACCEPTED THE INEVITABILITY OF YOUR FATE! Nightmare laughed with the volume of a hurricane as her aura wrapped around us. My body still petrified I could only watch as we were lifted high into the sky. "GOOD! THAT WILL MAKE WHAT COMES NEXT EASIER FOR US BOTH" She raised us above her head, her neck tilting back. 'Oh, sweet Celestia!' My eyes widened with horror as I realized what she was about to do. "TRUST ME, EATING YOU TWO WILL BE MORE UNPLEASANT FOR ME!" She opened her mouth revealing a pitch-black abyss. That was enough to snap me out of my trance, unfortunately, it was too late. "AAAIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" A piercing shriek reached my ears as Nightmare released Apple Bloom first. Her eyes were white with terror, begging me to save her. Begging me not to let her fall into that black hole never to return. At that moment, I felt like I was reliving that night in the Everfree Forest all over again. The night I got Pa killed, and now Nightmare was making me go through it again. The thought of losing another member of my family ignited something inside me. "NO!" A burst of energy erupted from deep inside me breaking Nightmare's aura. "WHAT!" Ignoring the cry of astonishment from the lunar leviathan, I dove headlong toward the abyss. My entire body felt wrapped in a blanket of pure energy propelling me faster than I'd ever gone before. But would it be fast enough? With every passing second, I drew closer to my sister as did the black hole. SWOOSH!" In the blink of an eye, I wrapped my hooves around her barrel and then zoomed upward toward the rapidly closing jaws above me. My telescopic vision spotted a gap I could still make it through. It was going to be close, but I was determined to make it. With just seconds to spare, I threaded the narrow gap between the enormous two incisors before the jaws slammed shut with an echoing crash. Immediately I felt the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders. Apple Bloom was unconscious from shock, but she was unharmed and that's all that mattered to me. "Uhh...Wha...?" She slowly began to stir, "W-Where am A'h? What just happened?" She opened her eyes and gasped in astonishment. "Apple Comet! Y--Y-You're flying?" Apple Bloom's POV. A'h thought for certain A'h was done for when Nightmare Moon dropped me towards her mouth. As A'h closed my eyes for what A'h thought would be the last time, A'h saw my life flash before me. And then in a flash of light, A'h saw a red comet racing towards me. And now here A'h was snatched away from falling like an apple from a tree by my big brother. Well, my second big brother anyway. "What kind of big brother would I be if I weren't there to catch my siblings when they fall?" He smiled at me and said. A'h felt like the luckiest filly in the whole wide world. After all, how many girls could say they had a brother who was willing to fly into the jaws of a monster to save them from certain doom? Not a whole lot A'h imagine. My excitement was short-lived as A'h saw a spell streaking after us. "Behind You!" A'h shouted. Apple Comet turned and fired a blast of heat from his eyes more powerful than I'd ever seen him do before. It met the spell head-on stopping it in its tracks. "THIS...THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" The mountainous mare roared her luminous eyes wide with shock and disbelief as she tried to push her spell back. "I BROKE YOU DOWN! SUBJECTED YOU TO YOUR WORST FEARS, YOUR MOST PAINFUL MEMORIES! I EVEN OFFERED YOU YOUR HEART'S DESIRE JUST TO GET YOU OUT OF MY MANE! AND YET STILL YOU PERSIST IN DEFYING ME! WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?" "After all this time, I thought that would be obvious by now." Apple Comet said, cooly. "I'm fighting for my home, the only home I've ever known. But more importantly, I'm fighting for those I share it with. My family, my friends." He reached his hoof out to me. "Let's finish this, together." In an instant, A'h felt an incredible rush of energy. My entire body started glowing like the sun. It was the most incredible feeling A'h ever felt in my life. With my eyes burning brightly A'h added my heat vision to Apple Comet's. Together with our combined power, it burned through Nightmare Moon's spell bathing the desert in a blazing red light. As A'h looked down into black alicorn's empty eyes, A'h saw fear in them for the first time. "NO, THIS CANNOT BE! I AM TERROR! I AM THE NIGHT! I AM NIGHTMARE MOOOOON!" As the light faded the headless body of Nightmare Moon collapsed into the sand. Apple Bloom?...Apple Bloom?" "Apple Bloom!" "Gah!" "Come on don't you fall asleep on me too ya hear?" "Granny?" A'h was back in Apple Comet's room. Granny Smith was standing over my shoulder. "Oh thank Celestia," She sighed wiping her brow with relief. "A'h was starting to get worried." "Where's Apple Comet? Is he alright?" "Ugh...keep it down will ya?" A voice mumbled from under the covers. "APPLE COMET!" In a flash, A'h tore the blanket off to find Apple Comet covering his eyes with his foreleg. "Hey, what's the big idea?" He asked, his eyes squinting from the bright lights as he lowered his leg. Before he knew what hit him A'h jumped on him and wrapped my hooves around him. "Your eyes, they're not covered with sand anymore!" In a flash, he disappeared from my grip and ran to the window. "It's still night out!" He glanced at his alarm clock which showed it was 8:16. "Then that means Nightmare Moon is still out there, I have to stop her!" "Whoa hold yer horses there sonny," Granny held up her hoof. "Y'all just woke up." "You don't understand," Apple Comet continued. "Nightmare Moon won't rest until she takes over Equestria. She attacked me in my dreams and put a curse on me so I couldn't wake up." It's true Granny!" A'h said. "She took over Apple Comet's parents and tried to trap us in our heart's true desire." "Oh no, the crystal!" Apple Comet dashed back over to the bed and threw the blanket back. His face sank when he saw it was covered with cracks and its light was gone. "No!" "Something wrong with it?" Granny Smith asked curiously. Apple Comet looked at her with tears in his eyes. "T-They're gone." Apple Comet's POV. The front door to the barn slid open with a creak the light of the full moon chasing the darkness back into the corners. I hadn't set hoof in here since that night five years ago. Too many painful memories. Nightmare Moon was still out there, and I knew I was the only one who could stop her. I needed to prepare, so I asked Apple Bloom and Granny Smith to be left alone for a few minutes. As soon as I knew they were downstairs, I'd flung open the window and leaped out to the barn. I walked over to the tarp in the back corner of the barn and pulled it off, revealing the arrowhead-shaped spacecraft underneath. The only other time I'd seen this had been so overwhelming that I hadn't taken the time to examine it closely. With a better understanding of my heritage, I was able to appreciate it more. The way its sleek silver body gleamed even after more than ten years spent in the back of the barn. How its passenger compartment resembled something of a cocoon keeping me safe during my long voyage through space. I still couldn't believe I was the only colt in my class who'd been to space. I could only imagine how they'd react if they knew the truth. "So I have you to thank for pretty much my entire life huh?" I honestly don't why I was talking to an inanimate spaceship. Maybe part of me expected it to talk back, maybe my ordeal inside my head had left me a little unglued. Either way, I found it kind of therapeutic under the circumstances as I turned my attention to the dashboard. I could see the door to the compartment that held the crystal, but I had no idea how to open it. Shrugging my shoulders I decided to just leave the crystal in the compartment. "Hey, Mom and Dad. I don't know if you're still in there and can hear me, But I just wanted to say even though I only knew you for a short time, I'll never forget it. You sacrificed yourselves so I might have a chance at life even though you knew you couldn't be part of it." 'Come on keep it together' I told myself. 'Nightmare Moon is still out there.' "So I'm making you a promise I made to somepony else. I'm gonna make your sacrifice mean something. By being someone you'd be proud to call your son." "I've got to go now, Equis is counting on me, even if they don't know it yet. Goodbye Mom, Goodbye Dad, and thanks for everything." As I placed the crystal inside, I felt a sense of both grief and comfort. I had lost my parents for the third time, I would have a difficult battle ahead. But at the same time, I felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from my heart. "Damaged Memory Crystal detected." "Huh?" "Please insert damaged memory crystal into the storage compartment to begin a diagnostic scan." A familiar mechanical voice said. "Kerax?" "Voice identification confirmed, greetings Kom-El. Please insert the damaged memory crystal into the storage compartment to begin a diagnostic scan." I picked up the cracked and faded crystal in my hoof. Was I being given a second chance? "A'h though we'd find you here." I turned around to see Granny Smith and Apple Bloom standing in the doorway. "Gah!" I was so startled I dropped the crystal back in the ship. "Granny! Apple Bloom! Look I wasn't trying to run away or anything, I was just..." "Settle down, ya ain't in trouble, however, A'h would like to hear an explanation as to why y'all thought it necessary to take off without telling us where ya were going. Well, Ah'm waiting." "I'm going to face Nightmare Moon," I sighed and said. "I don't want to hear any arguing or trying to talk me out of it. Equestria is in danger and we all know I'm the only one who can stop her and I won't be told otherwise. I just came here to be alone for a little while before I left." "Let me come with you," Apple Bloom insisted. "We beat her together once before, we can do it again." "No Apple Bloom it's too dangerous. I'm grateful to you for wanting to help. You saved me more than once tonight. But this isn't a dream. It's real life and you'd be no match for her. I have to do this alone." "No, you don't!" Apple Bloom protested, "Your family and family always stick together no matter what." "Apple Bloom that's enough." Granny shushed her before turning her attention back to me. "You know the night my son and Pear butter brought you in from the orchard, A'h didn't know what to make of you. A foal falling to earth from a comet? Who'd ever heard of such a ridiculous thing? But through the years you've been here, through good times and bad, Ah've seen you do some amazing things. A'h still remember the day you saved me when A'h was trapped under a barrel in the cellar. A'h know we haven't always agreed on everything when it comes to where you came from, But if tonight has taught this old gal anything, it's that Foalton is as much your home as Sweet Apple Acres. "Umm...it's Kolton Granny." Apple Bloom pointed out. "Huh? What did A'h say?" Granny asked confused. "Anyway, A'h guess the point Ah'm trying to make is if y'all feel like fighting Nightmare Moon is something ya gotta do, then get out there and kick her in the dishpan!" "Kick her in the dishpan?" Apple Bloom muttered confused. "Thanks, Granny," I said with a smirk as slid the crystal into the compartment. "I'll make you proud." "Ya already have, now move yer caboose! Equestria ain't gonna save itself." That was all the encouragement I needed. In a flash, I took off through the barn door and launched into the air, climbing higher and higher with every second. I wasn't going to rest until the sun rose over Equestria once again and Nightmare Moon was back in the moon where she belonged. Suddenly out in the distance, I saw an incredible flash of light coming from the Everfree Forest. "That must be where Nightmare Moon is." It made sense for the self-important Queen of the Night to make her lair in one of the darkest and most dangerous places in all of Equestria. Well, it wasn't going to deter me. With lightning speed, I flew across the sky leaving a streak of white in my wake. My telescopic and X-ray vision began scanning the forest in tandem looking for the flash's source. Suddenly the sky began to grow brighter. I looked up to the sun's rays poking over the peak of Mt Canterlot. Instantly I began to feel its warmth energizing my body, rejuvenating my cells. But wait, Nightmare would never allow the sun to rise, so why was the sun rising? I got my answer when I spotted the ruins of an old castle deep in the Everfree Forest. It was overgrown and covered with vegetation but strangely the rope bridge connecting it to the rest of the forest looked recently repaired. Suddenly my super hearing picked up a familiar voice. "Gee Twilight, A'h thought you were spouting a whole bunch of hooey, but I reckon we do represent the elements of friendship." "Applejack?" A quick scan with my X-ray vision revealed my sister to be standing in the middle of the same throne room from my dream. Alongside her were five other ponies two of whom I recognized as Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. My heart skipped a beat as I laid eyes on the purple unicorn. But the biggest surprise in the room was who she was talking to. Princess Celestia in all her splendor spoke to Twilight, calling her her faithful student. Wow, and I thought she was incredible before. The Princess congratulated Twilight and the others on defeating Nightmare Moon. Wait so while I was trapped in my dreams, my sister and Twilight were out saving Equestria without me? I felt surprised, guilty, and honestly a little cheated. After being terrorized and tormented all night, a part of me was looking forward to seeing the look on her face when I showed up. Celestia turned her attention to the other side of the room where another pony lay on the floor. "Princess Luna!" The other pony raised her head revealing herself to be another alicorn. Instantly my mind conjured up images of a young blue filly who spoke in olde equestrian. Celestia reconciled with Luna offering her a second chance. Part of me felt a sense of guilt and worthlessness as I saw Luna embrace her sister apologizing profusely. I had failed to protect Luna from Nightmare Moon when she needed me. And now partially thanks to Applejack she was free once more. Some hero I turned out to be. I spent all night trapped in my own dreams, failed to protect Luna, put Apple Bloom in danger, and quite possibly destroyed the only thing my parents left me. Meanwhile, my sister and her new friends saved Equestria. Not exactly the stuff legends are made of. With nothing better to do, I flew back to the farm. Third Pony POV "Did you just see that?" The royal guard turned to his partner. "See what?" His partner asked. "That shooting star." His partner looked at him confused. "It's past sunrise." "I swear it was just there." His partner shook his head. "Look it's been a long night, the sun was late to rise and we're both tired. Let's just get the Princess and her student back to town and you can tell your family about it when you get home." Comet's POV again. 'Home Sweet Home' I thought as I landed on the roof behind the steeple. Part of me just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep, the other part wanted to slap the first for just thinking about it. "Oh no! He's gone." I heard a mare's voice gasp from my bedroom. I looked into my bedroom to see a Nurse with a red cross cutie mark standing over my empty bed in shock! 'Of course,' I facehoofed, it only made sense that Granny would've sent for a doctor when I was under the sands of Hyponos. And now I was gone like an escaped mental patient. I had to think fast before that nurse panicked and called out a search party or something. I searched the rest of the upstairs floor with my X-ray vision looking for an alibi. Then I noticed the upstairs bathroom was unoccupied. Perfect. After checking downstairs to make sure the coast was clear, I flew around to the front door, crept in, and then raced up the stairs and down the hall to the bathroom. FLUSH! "Ahh," I sighed with mock relief making sure the nurse would hear me as I stepped out of the bathroom door." Sure enough, she turned around to find me standing there "There you are." She breathed a sigh of relief. "You had me worried sick. You really shouldn't be out of bed in your condition." "I had to pee," I said innocently. The nurse rolled her eyes, "Well you're awake so that's good news. Now would you please get back in bed so I can check you over?" "But I'm not tired," I whined. But my nurse wasn't having any of it. She grabbed my hoof and led me back to my room. After a thorough examination, Nurse Redheart was unable to find anything wrong with me. Still, she insisted I stay in bed until the doctor got here. And unfortunately for me, she insisted on staying to make sure I didn't disappear again. So here I was, in bed once again with Nurse Redheart sitting in a chair by my bedside, watching me like a hawk. Thankfully she did her best to make me comfortable by bringing me some books to read. I spent the rest of the morning reading Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. I wonder what AK Yearling would say if she ever learned about me. Maybe she'd write a book about it? Daring Do and the Colt from Kolton. I'm sure it would be a bestseller. Much better than Daring Do and the Colt who had to stay in bed because he was sick. "Well Apple Comet, honestly I don't know what to say." Dr. Horse looked over his notes. Whatever was wrong with you last night, I can't seem to find a trace of it anywhere in your body. You're as fit as a fiddle." "Does this mean I'm free to go?" I asked eagerly. The Doctor smiled and held out a hoof in front of me. "Not just yet," He said. "There are still a few questions I'd like to ask you about your condition. I've never seen anything like it before. Let's start at the beginning, I need you to recall everything that happened yesterday before you went to bed." I leaned back against my pillow and looked up at the ceiling. This was going to take all day, wasn't it? As it turns out it didn't take all day. Somehow I managed to condense yesterday's events into a half-hour explanation. Of course, I might have taken some creative liberties like omitting the part about Apple Bloom using an alien artifact to contact me in my dreams. Along with pretty much her entire involvement, but in the end, both of them seemed to believe my story. I told them I had a dream about meeting the Mare in the Moon. She was talking about how she was going to take over Equestria and I foolishly said I was gonna wake up and tell everyone. Then she threw the sand of Hyponos in my eyes and fled. Thankfully with everything that happened that night, they bought it. However, Dr. Horse insisted on checking me over one last time. I was just lucky they didn't decide to take a blood sample. That would've been hard to explain. Before heading off to the Summer Sun Celebration, there was still one more thing I had to do. I made my way over to the barn one more time. The door was padlocked, but a quick search under a conspicuously placed horseshoe on the ground revealed a key. The barn was silent save for my hoof steps as I approached the ship. "Umm, Kerax? It's me Kom-El," I said hesitantly. "Hello again Kom-El, it is good to see you again." The friendly robotic voice graciously answered. "How may I be of assistance?" I took a deep breath preparing myself for the worst. "How is the crystal, can it be fixed?" "It is difficult to say at this time." He answered displaying an image of the crystal on the console. "While the surface damage was easily repairable, I'm afraid the memory core was damaged. I've done my best to salvage and fix what I can, but I am afraid at this time there is no way of telling how much can be saved." "What about my parents?" I asked. "Do you know if they're alright?" "I can confirm fragments of both their memories are still in the core." He said pulling up an image of what looked like a pair of broken DNA strands. "Unfortunately, they are badly desynchronized and scattered about the memory core. Given enough time, I might be able to resynchronize them. But it is a delicate process, one that offers no guarantee of success. All I can offer you is my word that I will do my very best to help them." The first tear ran down my cheek as I realized I might never see my parents again. The cracks in the surface left by the Sands of Hyponos would eventually be fixed but the scars they left would always remain. It felt like a perfect metaphor for my broken heart. "Thank you Kerax," I whispered sadly. "I suppose that's all I can ask of you. I think I need to be alone for a little while." Deciding there was nothing more I could do here, I turned to face the door. "I understand, Young Master before you go, however, there is one more thing. Your parents wanted to wait until you were a little older before letting you have this but given what you've been through this last night, I think you've proven you're ready." "Ready for what?" I sniffed. "Do you still have your mother's pendant and the cloth you were wrapped in?" A strange question for an advanced AI to ask. To which I answered. "I have the pendant in my bedroom and the cloth is in the attic with the rest of my foal things." "Bring them here, I've got something I want to show you." I raced back to the farmhouse. After checking to make sure Dr. Horse and Nurse Redheart had left. I ran up to my bedroom and grabbed Loran's pendant from my nightstand. Then I went up to the attic and got my baby blanket from the box with my foal clothes. With these items in hoof I raced back to the barn. "Ok, I got them, what now?" "Just place them inside the ship and I'll do the rest." I did as instructed placing the blanket down first and laying Loran's pendant on top. A beam of light shone from the console as the blanket and pendant disappeared in a flash of twinkling lights. In their place was a silver diamond-shaped emblem small enough to fit in my hoof. Emblazoned on the front was, of course, a comet. "What is this?" I asked as I reached in to examine it more closely. "It is a clothing matrix generator," Kerax explained. "Something to remember your Koltonian heritage by. I figure if last night was any indication you're probably going to need it." "How does it work?" I asked "Simply place it against your chest and see what happens." I did as instructed, instantly the emblem lit up and transformed in a flash of light becoming the red and blue crest of the Stable of El. A wave blue light rippled out from the symbol covering my body in a bright blue material. A second flash around my waist became a red and gold belt with a diamond-shaped buckle. It was followed by four more from the light traveling down my legs. The front ones stopped at the fetlock becoming a pair of red and gold sleeve bands while the back ones went all the way down, covering my hooves in a pair of red boots. Finally, two ribbons of red light emerged from my collar, joining together to form a red cape adorned with a golden El crest. "Whoa," I whispered in awe. My sadness completely forgotten, I gazed at my reflection in the ship's hull. Not believing what I was seeing. It was the same costume that I had worn in my battle with Nightmare Moon. But how did it know? The sound of wings flapping caught my attention. I looked through the roof with my X-ray vision to see a flock of birds passing over the barn. I had a sudden overwhelming desire to join them. "WAHOOOOO!!!!" In a flash, I took to the skies, my cape streaming in the wind behind me as the wind rushed across my face. It was incredible, I felt like a bird released from its cage. I went into a dive, swooping between two rows of apple trees. Their branches swayed and rustled as I passed under them. Reaching the end I climbed back into the air. The view of Sweet Apple Acres was breathtaking. Rows upon rows of apple trees spread across rolling green hills. Beyond them lay Ponyville with its thatch roof buildings and cobblestone roads. Even from up here, I could see the streets were filled with jubilant ponies celebrating the arrival of the Princesses as well as Applejack and her friends no doubt. After everything that had happened last night, I felt I could do with a little celebrating. Like a streak of light, I raced toward town. Third Pony Pov. "Sister Look up in the sky!" Luna gasped and pointed at a streaking red object as it passed over Ponyville. "What is it?" Celestia asked wondering why Luna was suddenly pointing at the sky. "A shooting star!" Luna exclaimed. Celestia let out a giggle. "A shooting star in the middle of the afternoon? You're going to have to do better than that Luna." Ignoring her sister's jesting, Luna looked back up at the sky. "Thank you Kom-El, For everything."