Amidst the blackened and even more shrouded parts of the castle, the tapestries of Celestia's achievements would've been torn off, but instead were magically altered to see a flipside of what truly happened... something fouler... something more sinister and dark was at play. Everchange, who had prematurely transformed back into his normal form, trotted along the castle hallways, feeling a bit of a strong invisible force of pressure slowing his hoofsteps. He continued to walk down the hallway until he came across a tapestry that seemed unchanged. At the top of the tapestry was a shot of Nightmare Moon and Everchange's mother, Luna, seemingly becoming one and the same... but below it is the moon turning red, and Nightmare Moon has become something incredibly different... this Lunar Blight character.
Below that was Celestia, on the verge of death as she was surrounded by Lunar Blight's top guards, and as 6 other ponies that couldn't be recognized tried to fend them off. At the very bottom of the tapestry was Everchange, being enveloped in a warped magical field, and that was all that could be seen. Obviously, Everchange was more or less concerned and worried about his fate... and the fate of everypony else. Could he really not stand a chance? Could this be what Discord was talking about before he snapped him to Canterlot?
Everchange shook his head and gritted his teeth. "No, that won't happen. I'm stronger than that... I'm not some bastard foal with no place in this world... I am somepony who can and will make a difference!!! No more running! This won't be how it ends! Not now!! NOT EVER!!" Everchange yelled, reaching for the door, only for it to suddenly extend and get farther away, making the stallion angry.
"Fine then, this will be a test of my patience... as I seem to be running low on that commodity." Everchange groaned as he trotted forth, chasing after the ever-extending double doors, leading to the throne room. Everchange nearly gets ahold of the doors before they get out of his reach, and it fires him up as he keeps up his attempts to reach the throne room.
Everchange almost gets close to the door, before getting pulled back by Pitch Ink and Flintgraad, who were smirking as they readied themselves for a fight. Everchange cracked his neck and charged at the two elites, slamming into them with full force, roaring out as he fought back.
As Flintgraad suddenly rammed his armored helmet into Everchange's face, Everchange steadily got up, and a small leaky trail of blood trickled down his face as he growled at the two elites, continuing on as he began to overpower them.
Everchange manages to fracture and kick off the horns on the two elite guards, who recoiled in incredible pain as they got sent flying by a powerful buck to their guts. The double doors slowly encroach forward to the stallion as Everchange wipes the blood off his face.
Everchange turns towards the doors and immediately grabs ahold of the rings, and pushes them open, an aggressive, determined, scared and confident look in his eyes as he trots forward, the doors closing on their own as Flint and Pitch Ink look on, not in horror, but with gusto and sinister grins.
"Poor bastard, *cough* he never stood a chance." Pitch Ink said, slowly getting up as she threw Flint over her back and started to limp away. Flintgraad looked back at the double doors for a moment, and sneered at the strange gut feeling he suddenly felt.
Back in PonyVille, Celestia, Trixie, Twilight and her friends have managed to get through PonyVille, Celestia is carrying Trixie and Rarity while Applejack is being carried by Rainbow Dash. Pinkie is casually running alongside the white alicorn, while Twilight and Fluttershy are casually flying a bit higher than the princess, with Spike riding on Fluttershy's back. Below them was the train tracks, and behind them was a horde of mind controlled, aggressive, and extremely persistent ponies, each one trying to lunge or get at the ponies who didn't seem to be affected in the same way by the Blood Moon's lunar rays.
"Twilight, do you have any ideas where we could go? Anywhere where those ponies aren't gonna follow us?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, dodging and weaving out of the way as crazed wonderbolts flew past her. Celestia then manages to blast a huge stream of magical energy towards the mindless mad citizens of Ponyville, dispersing them easily, but they were still trying to get at the ponies.
"Not off the top of my head, but maybe... maybe we can go to Canterlot! I have a feeling that maybe if we go there, we'll find the root of the issue! Celestia, how far are we from there if this is the same railway that the whole issue from a little bit ago occurred on?" Twilight asked Celestia. The Alicorn blasted the ground below her, breaking a huge hole deep enough to stop a few Earth Ponies, but the few Unicorns and Pegasi around were obviously a bit more stubborn than to just give up.
Soon, in a flash of white light, the crazed mindless mad ponies were gone. The ponies stopped, and there were some obvious confused faces until their attention was drawn back in front of them, showing Canterlot in the distance, and a fierce dark magical energy is radiating throughout the land.
"Oh no... My faithful student, we must go! To the Castle, make haste! This cannot be allowed to spread in any way!" Celestia spoke out. Her voice was in obvious distress, but it seemed that a bit of rage was present as well. Twilight didn't want to admit that she felt something off about her mentor, but it seemed like the other elements were a bit apprehensive, until Twilight kept flying towards Canterlot.
Everchange moved carefully through the throne room, seeing that the broken glass is still present from the shouting match he and Celestia had, not like it mattered... he made his choice, and he was going to see it through, to see if he could talk down this evil shell of his mother... but with 1,000 years of no actual communication proving to be the only issue with that plan, Everchange still had hope... No, he had Courage. He trotted forward, only to be wary of the fact that the throne did not have anypony sitting upon it.
"Seems to me like I might not be welcome here, if a royal cannot meet another as an equal... Good thing I'm not royal material. Mother!! Show yourself! I want to talk!" Everchange exclaimed. His voice echoed throughout the room, and he heard the flapping of wings, only to be met by the dark winged monster that was pure evil incarnate.
"Ahaha... What a daring choice to come face me alone, Earth Pony. You know, you remind me of another brave soul from long ago, but that's not important. You want your mommy, don't you? That's why you came all this way, just for some maternal figure you haven't talked to in a millennia?" Lunar Blight stated with a wicked smile, but the venom in her words was just as potent.
"That all depends, are you gonna wise up and hear out my offer?" Everchange asks in response with a furious, but blank expression. The wicked alicorn was not expecting such an answer from the stallion. An offer? an offer of what? What could he have that could be of any real value for her and her goal for a kingdom bathed in an eternal blood night?
"Fine then, mortal. What is it that you have in equal exchange for the new solo ruler of eque-" Everchange soon charged forward and jerked his head upwards as he jumped up, and headbutted the wicked Alicorn, knocking the wicked mare off balance as her guard was down, interrupting her ego boasting as she growled and let her powerful magic swell up and charge.
"YOU IGNORAMIC LITTLE BASTARD!!! Fine then, I guess I know your offer then. I give you your mommy and the kingdom back, in exchange, you give your life foolishly as you try to take mine! Consider this deal... ACCEPTED!!!" Lunar Blight exclaimed, firing magical beams from her horn. Everchange ran out of the way and ran towards the alicorn, leaping upwards to strike his front hooves down onto her, but she manages to dodge out of the way, and it's obvious this wasn't going to be as easy as he had hoped... not that he minded, anyway.
Everchange quickly charged forward, leaping forward as he bit onto her leg, and she yelped and swung the mortal aside, only for a flash of light to envelop the stallion, and in place of it was Tyrani-Taur, his Minotaur form.
"Now ya done it, ya prissy dark winged pony!! Tyrani-Taur is here to put you to the ground!!" The minotaur exclaimed. It ran forward as it lunged towards the Equestrian, only to be blasted back by a stream of dark magic.
Lunar Blight lifted the Minotaur up into the air, only to then be met with a flash of green light, replacing Tyrani-Taur with the miniscule Minifly. The breezie flew effortlessly around the shadowy monarch, covering her face with a type of magical dust that made them recoil in anger, swatting the Breezie to the side, only for the Breezie to be changed into the Draconic Scaleblazer. The battle was getting dangerously risky with the fight taking to the skies, and Everchange knew that deep down, he felt a saddening chill of Deja Vu, as he spewed fire towards the Alicorn, who only used magical barriers to ward off the flames.
In yet another green light, The dragon was replaced by the Malignant Shapeshifting Insect, Expioflage. The changeling hissed and sneered as it spewed a sticky hive resin on the alicorn's wings, sticking them to the side of her body as she landed, firing beams of magical energy at the bug, only for it change shape, becoming a mere look-alike of the mutated Timberwolf Everchange once faced before, albeit darker and with glowing green eyes, roaring as it swatted and stamped on the maddened royal.
The timberwolf vanished, leaving the changeling to transform into the Focus-Eyed Griffon, Lionhawk. The ferocious beast lunged in, and delivered blow after blow, scratch after scratch onto the alicorn, only to be knocked back by a powerful magical force field. In another green light, The Griffon was replaced by the Rude and Crude Diamond Dog, Germani. The canine growled and cracked its knuckles as it barked wildly and charged head-on towards the malignant force, bearing its fangs as it drew nearer.
"You waste my time, shape-changer! Give up, kneel to me, and admit defeat! You cannot win! Why is it that you are so persistent?!" Lunar Blight exclaimed. The diamond dog just wailed on the magical field, only to be met by two hooves slamming into his face, sending him back towards the huge double doors.
"Cos oi don' plan on livin' the rest ah my days unda the stupid monsta whose wearin' my mum's body like a flimsy onesie!!" Germani scowled, transforming again, this time, into the Kindling Kirin, Scoville Hooves. The Kirin gritted its teeth as it felt the pure flaming rage within its body whell up and spew out, crashing into Lunar Blight as she was sent careening backwards, destroying the throne. The Alicorn managed to regain her footing, only for another green flash of light to grab her attention, as the Silent Golem, known as Tectress, just leered at the Alicorn.
Even Lunar Blight was baffled, how many forms did this Stallion have before she would start seeing repeats? She didn't get an immediate answer, until the lumbering golem creature grunted and lunged at the Alicorn, striking her face with one of its claws as it readied itself to land another strike. This fight was going to be extremely hectic, extremely fast.
At the entrance to Canterlot, multiple winged soldiers, donning Lunar Blight's armor flew and ravaged through Canterlot, innocent ponies being forced back into their homes while others are trampled into submission. It was a brutal sight, but it was obvious that this was only going to get worse if something wasn't done.
Several of the guards looked towards Celestia and the Elements, only to sneer and bare their fangs as they lunged forward. The princess caught the guards in her magical grasp and tossed them aside as the Elements, Spike, and Trixie rushed to the right, following the smaller alicorn to the castle.
"Ok, we need a plan before we reach the castle, anypony got one?" Trixie asked, worried as she tried to keep up with the ponies. Several guards that weren't pre-occupied by Celestia swooped down to try and take the elements by force, only to be met by the bright green flames Spike spewed in their direction, warding them off for the moment.
"Trixie's right, darling, we can't just run in there without a plan, we nearly met a grim fate just trying that with those uncouth body-snatchers!" Rarity stated, shuddering at the thought. Several more bat pony guards came swooping down, only to be met by a powerful kick to the face, courtesy of Applejack, and a swift uppercut assist by Rainbow Dash.
"Well, what would you have me do?! If we're gonna stop these crazy bat-ponies, we need to stop the alicorn behind all of this... but something tells me Everchange is already ahead of us on that. We need to put a stop to this, and we need to do it, now! We have the elements, we need to stop Nightmare Moon at any costs." Twilight stated, a feeling of guilt eats away at her psyche, knowing that what she said, by any costs, was going to be a difficult task, and could make a problem for much... much later.
Back with Everchange, he was still in his Tectress form, then changed in a flash of green light, was replaced his Windigo form, Phrosthanthom. The spiritual equine charged towards the Alicorn, who was barely getting by in this fight, blasted the Windigo with a magical beam, only for it to pass right through. Lunar Blight was sent flying into a pillar, but refused to give up to a mere Stallion.
"Just wither away already, you stupid waste of-" Lunar Blight couldn't finish her remark before being hit by a strong gust of wind, her legs and wings being slowly encased in ice. In a flash of light, the Windigo was replaced by Everchange, now in his normal state of being, but was thoroughly exhausted from the fight itself. He looked towards the gem on his wrist, and just pondered everything that happened in the last few minutes.
'Well, that was... rather unexpected, usually there's a time limit to my transformations... did I unlock some form of mastery, a form of real control over this gem's unexplained properties? All questions to be answered at a later date... right now, I need to save my mother.' Everchange thought to himself. He trotted towards the Alicorn, who was still struggling to get out of the ice, only to glare and sneer at the Earth Stallion.
"You think you won, haven't you? I'll get out of here, and when I do, you'll be a distant memory!" Lunar Blight exclaimed angrily. Everchange rolled his eyes, which finally set the Alicorn off over the edge... the last strand of straw, to break the godly malevolent camel's back. This stallion, this shapeshifting stallion, he dared to defy the nightmare that is her very being, The Queen of the Crimson Night, The raiser and lower of the Blood Moon, The Lunar Blight?! Who did this stallion think he was, Celestia?! She figured that arrogance was the only thing he truly learned from her, but this foolish sentiment ends.
'No more Mrs. Nice Mare...' The alicorn thought as her horn glowed a crimson color, sparking and igniting into flames, a drippy, bright yellow flame as the ice immediately melted away. Everchange stood his ground and was about to use the gem's power again, until he felt Lunar Blight's seering white-hot burning horn against his temple, causing him to scream and bellow out in agony, and then everything went dark.
Dreamscape
Everchange found himself sitting up, panicking, until he felt like he was... lighter. Everchange looked around him, and saw the strangest sight he had ever seen in a thousand years. A messed up white, black, dark blue, and crimson red void with a withering dark gray tree being in front of him, and a cloaked mare sitting by the tree, unaware of the stallion's presence. Everchange tried using the gem, only for it to not work, and emit a low beeping sound. The mare by the tree obviously took notice of the sound, and stood up to approach the stallion.
"Ugh, I need to figure out why you do the things you do, for my mother's sake, you accursed waste of dragon food." Everchange groaned as he tried to make the gem work. He stopped when he saw the mare approaching him, and by the name of his aunt, she was tall, almost exactly as tall as his mother.
"Uh, hello, you wouldn't happen to know where the exit to this place is, right?" Everchange asked, unsure as to what he should say. The mare smiled and laid a hoof on the stallion's shoulder.
"Everchange... you haven't changed a bit." The mare said, her voice regal, smooth, and was potent with a ring of familiarity to it. Everchange looked at the mare, her dark blue fur, the life in her eyes, they shimmered like sparkling crystal blue arias, and the white crescent moon holding her robe together was quite the outlier, as Everchange recognized the mare clearly, but had no real idea as to what he could say to her.
In the halls of the castle, the faint echoing of Everchange's brief cries were what the elements, Spike and Trixie were following as a guide. The warped interior of the castle was a mind melting experience for the ponies, and the poor dragon, but things seemed straightforward enough when they got to the throne room, bursting through the doors as they prepare to fight.
"Everchange, we're here!!" Twilight exclaimed. The ponies looked on at what was transpiring, and it was all too terrible of a sight to behold.
Everchange's forehead had a sharp red welt pulsating with a purple aura as his body was unresponsive, his eyes, lacking any sign of life as the Alicorn cackled like a maniac. The gem on his wrist, it was flashing a bright cyan color as Everchange's body just remained still.
"Well well, the elements of Harmony... I will admit, I was planning on having my two elites go after the elements after I dealt with this whelp, but you know how plans can be, they're like morals... they change, and I intend to make sure that shapeshifter joins my ranks, and becomes my right-hand stallion... such power, and he's only an Earth Pony, it's positively perfect. I'll be taking the elements now, if you don't truly mind." Lunar Blight monologued.
"You must be crazier than a bunch of brainless chickens accepting help from a hungry timberwolf if you think we're just gonna hand 'em over." Applejack stated sternly. The Alicorn took in a deep breath, and grinned, her sharp jagged teeth glinting in the Blood Moon's light.
"Oh I was so hoping you'd say that. I've been practicing a certain spell on a few of my guards during my imprisonment, so I'll see if it'll truly be at its best when used on such a fool-hardy specimen. Everchange Spectical of Canterlot, RISE!!!" Lunar Blight commanded, her voice booming and echoing through the room.
The welt on Everchange's forehead suddenly lessened, only for Everchange's body to convulse and twitch, contorting his body in an unnatural manner as he stood up, and gritted his teeth as he glared at the ponies, the life in his eyes returning, only for his eyes to be emitting a vile crimson red color. Everchange yelled aggressively and charged at the ponies, shifting into Tyrani-Taur as he tried to smash the ponies to pieces, only for them to dodge and try to pacify their former ally.
"Mother... i-is it really you?" Everchange asked, hesitating on his words as he felt tears whell up in his eyes. The mare looked down at the stallion, removing the cloak and removing the hood obscuring and hiding a lot of her dark violet cosmic hair, as well as a light blue cosmic tail. The mare felt tears in her eyes as she smiled, bringing the stallion in for a hug.
The Princess of the night, the guardian and observer of dreams, raiser and lower of the Moon, Luna, was right here... wherever this twisted realm was.
"My dear Everchange... my son, my baby boy, it is me... Oh how I've missed you so much! It's been a millennia, we- we have so much to talk about, so much to catch up on. I-" The mare's joyous words suddenly came to a stop, and Luna looked her son in the eyes, which were filled to the brim with tears.
"I- I thought I... I thought I lost you! I thought that monster in your body was all that remained! Mother, forgive me, I didn't- I- I-I d-didn't want to fight you, I truly didn't! I-" Everchange's voice was cracking, catching in his voice as his emotions stampeded in a confused cluster of thoughts. Luna smiled and just wiped the tears away.
"All has already been forgiven, Everchange... all has been forgiven. But, I can feel it, you cannot bring yourself to forgive. Come, tell mother dearest who it is you can't forgive?" Luna said calmly, focusing on finally seeing her child yet again, even if something irked at him.
Back in the tangible world, Everchange's very body was under Lunar Blight's control, and though it definitely caught the ponies by surprise, they knew they had to hold out, to not hurt him, but they had to fend him off somehow... and magical spells can only get one so far in a fight with a shapeshifter of this magnitude.
"Twilight, got any ideas?! I'd like to go buck that crazy mare's teeth in than deal with this crazy two-timing traitor!" Rainbow exclaimed, avoiding a stream of fire as Scoville Hooves kept on bringing the fire to the fast flying pegasus. Twilight was trying to keep Scoville Hooves' attention on her, but the mindwarped Kirin was too focused on wanting some well roasted pegasus wings.
"I can't get him to stop! He won't focus on me, Rainbow, you need to hit him!" Twilight yelled. Rainbow Dash flew back to gain some distance, then came reeling back and smacked the Kirin to the ground, which was starting to struggle to even stand.
"Come on, you shape changing jerk, I thought you wanted to make things right, or was your Loyalty always for this crazy shadow alicorn?!" Rainbow exclaimed. Scoville Hooves rose to his feet, until a sudden sparkle snapped him back for a moment, but it wasn't long till he was back under control and back on the offensive.
"Pitiful little ponies, you think you can just take my greatest warrior back?! HAHAHAHA!!! You all must be the element of laughter, cause that's the best joke I've heard in a Millennia!" Lunar Blight exclaimed, cackling wildly.
Applejack straightened up her hat and gritted her teeth as she yelled and charged head on towards the Kirin. The Kirin changed back into Everchange's normal form, and met her charge with a charge of his own, literally butting heads with the country mare and was evenly matched with her.
"Come on, pardner, ah know this ain't you! You wouldn't willingly hurt another pony, you don't have it in ya to do somethin' like that, at the very least without a reason! Come on, Everchange, snap out of it, Be Honest with me!" Applejack exclaimed, struggling to keep her footing as Everchange suddenly backed off, groaning as he came to again, a violent black aura surrounding him as his body struggled against some sort of unforeseen force.
"What's happening to him?!" Twilight exclaimed. Her friends looked at her, knowing they heard Twilight ask that question, which confirmed that they were probably or definitely in so much trouble.
"Hmm... I see, you can't forgive Celestia for banishing me to the moon? A millennia has passed since then, and while this isn't how I wanted to return, I can still hope that I can make things right-"
"You don't have anything to make right, cause you didn't do anything wrong, Mother!" Everchange exclaimed, his voice echoing in the strangely colored void.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for, to apologize for, I'm the one who can't forgive the only other family I still had! I ran away from home the moment you were banished, I ran into the Chrysalis Queen of legends, and I could've died! I spent a Millennia wishing for you to come back, and I didn't know to bring you back! I wasted years upon years of thinking of solutions, but there was nothing I could've figured out... Nothing!! I didn't want to go back to Auntie Celestia for help because I was scared, scared that I'd be punished for running away in the first place, or coming back for the first time in a Millennia, and getting into a shouting match that drove us both to tears!!! I got kidnapped by a damn cult that sought to destroy equestria, I faced a clan of facehugging parasites, and one of them seemed to know a lot about you! I need to properly apologize, I need to make things right... I want my family back!!!!!!!" The stallion exclaimed into the void.
The mare watched on, seeing the stallion she raised as her own, was now crippling himself with the weight of others' actions... her actions. She knows that this place is escapable, but before she sends her son on her way back to the corporeal world, the colors of the void began to change, as did the singular tree that grew in such an unexplained environment.
The crimson red changed its hue to be that of a more dynamic red color, and a bit of the white of the void had begun to become more orange, like a ripe orange on a summer's day.
"Come on, Everchange, snap out of it, come back to us!" Twilight exclaimed. The black aura dissipated and Everchange growled, back on the offensive again as he transformed into Germani, snarling as he lunged towards Rarity, who was a bit trapped in the corner by the beast.
"Darling, please! I listened to your problems, you helped me with an excruciating order, you worked yourself countless times to near exhaustion, find it in your heart, your soul, your mind, darling! Remember the Generosity that Applejack had done for you? Give you a job, a roof over your head, a chance to start anew, to forget the past and look to the future, don't you remember that!?" The unicorn pleaded. Germani growled and backed away, struggling yet again.
"I don't know what's happening, but it seems to be working... whatever it is that's doing something." Twilight said, watching everything play out. Lunar Blight, now actually worried that whatever this was, it was actually breaking her control over the shapeshifter. Knowing very well that this might not bode well for her plans if it keeps up, starts to get into the fray herself, blasting at the element bearers while Spike and Trixie try to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
"This is hopeless, my only real fr- acquaintance, that I can really get along with, is being used as a monster... And I don't know how to help him!" Trixie said to herself, mad, irritated, terrified and defeated before she can even try to fight. Spike, who was hearing every word, looked from a distance towards the rampaging Diamond Dog. The gem wasn't its white color anymore, but it was glowing a more cyan-like color, his green eyes were more of a crimson red as Lunar Blight continued to fight the elements.
"Wait, I think I know how to help him! It's a very dangerous idea, but I'm gonna need someone great and powerful to pull it off... you wanna help him, don't you?" Spike asked. Trixie looked at the baby dragon, confused, curious, and very desperate to do something that'll help.
Everchange sat near the tree, ready to spend an eternity in this strange place, not even noticing how more of the white void had suddenly become more of a bright and slightly faded hot pink. Luna picked her son up, put him on her back and began to fly into the more colorful parts of the void, setting Everchange down as she backed away.
"Everchange, you're not used to being in this realm, not like I have, you want to save me? Then you need to focus on getting back to reality! Look around you, the vibrant colors of the elements, I taught you that the elements can have an effect on one who requires their healing properties. I'm not sure how your friends have figured this out, but I need you to focus on what your friends represent to you! It may just be your only chance to save all of Equestria from a Crimson colored calamity! I know you can do it, you're my son! You shine like the stars on a cloudless night, and you will shimmer and gleam till the morning light! You are Everchange Spectical, The Starbound Prince!!" Luna exclaimed, getting farther and farther away from Everchange.
Several orange, red and pink tendrils began to take hold of the stallion, and though it definitely freaked him out, he felt everything around him get dark and smoky.
The silent golem, Tectress, was the next transformation, and though it was silent, and a rather strange creature entirely, it was still enough to prove itself to be dangerous, trapping and cornering the shy yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, in its re-attachable grasp. Fluttershy saw the lack of a soul in the creature's eyes, but that didn't mean she didn't see the eternal suffering in the stallion's soul, being used as a brutal weapon for mass destruction or the domination of other civilizations. So, in a last-ditch effort to try and bring the stallion out of the alicorn's trance, hugs the rocky creature and utters what she thinks will be her last words if this doesn't work.
"P-Please... I know I was scared of... your changing powers, b-but you don't need to be so angry all the time... you're not a bad guy... you're just misunderstood, b-burdened by mistakes, bothered by stuff out of your control... all it t-takes to stop a fight... is with understanding... compassion... a-and... Kindness." The pegasus uttered out, bracing for the end as her body shook from the fear.
She suddenly felt the creature shake violently before it dropped her, trying its best to fight off the alicorn's control, reverting Tectress to Everchange's normal form, where he was still struggling.
"G-GET... O-OUT...!" Everchange strains, losing his composure as the trance overwhelms him again, forcing him back on the offensive as he tried to rebel against the monstrous alicorn's command.
"He's still in there!! There's still a chance, girls! We need to keep trying to bring him back, I don't know how long he'll be able to resist this trance, but we need to help him!" Twilight called out, using her magic to hold Everchange's body still as it struggled.
"Man, this dude's no unicorn, but he's got some real willpower to resist this crazy moon demon!" Rainbow stated, slightly impressed with how Everchange is still trying to resist the Alicorn's trance, or Twilight's magical hold on his body.
"Ooh! Ooh! Let me try, I can fix him!" Pinkie chimed in, bouncing over to the straining and warpminded stallion. "Come on, Everchange, I know you can do it, nasty evildoers are all talk until you give them a real good dose of Laughter! If I can get out of a real bad funk thanks to the help of my friends, then I'm sure that together we can laugh our worries away and have some good ol' fashioned fun! And that's a Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie said, smiling from ear to ear.
Everchange's range of control began to increase as he tried to say something, only to be thrown aside by Lunar Blight, smacking him right into a pillar that collapsed onto the stallion.
"I grow tired, and very irritated at this sappy nonsense! The Elements, hand them over, now!!" Lunar Blight commanded aggressively, picking Pinkie up with her magic, and aiming her horn right at the pink pony's face. Rainbow Dash rushed forward and tried to kick the Alicorn down, only to be smacked aside and knocked unconscious with Pinkie. Applejack and Rarity tried the same tactic, and were easily outmatched by the alicorn's natural strength. Twilight used her magic to form a shield around her, only for Fluttershy to be the one to break it, courtesy of Lunar Blight tossing the pegasus like a chunk of rubble. Each of the elements, down for the count, and Everchange seems to still be out cold and under rubble.
Each of the elements, taken down by this monstrous mad mare that used to be Princess Luna, it seemed unreal... Twilight teleported over to the rubble, only to find Spike and Trixie hiding behind the throne. Twilight quickly got through the rubble and pulled Everchange's bruised, battered and extremely exhausted body towards some cover as the Mad mare continued to pluck the elements from the unconscious wearers, one by one.
"Please Everchange, wake up, we need you, I don't like saying that a lot, but we need you! You lasted this long on your own, you tamed and fought a Timberwolf on your own, you escaped a bunch of crazy parasites without getting infected by one, you faced a number of horrors like no pony could believe... Surely, you can make one last attempt to cheat death, can't you?!" Twilight pleaded, the unconscious stallion remained as such. The alicorn lowered her head and took a deep breath.
"We got off on the wrong foot, I'll say that and admit that my accusations towards you were huge leaps in logic for me... but while your powers aren't magical, by the looks of how that gem works... I can say that if we get out of this alive, and win... I'll give you another chance, and we can experience the Magic of Friendship together! Who knows what awaits us if we get out of this, but I'll be with you every step of the way, just to make it up to you!! Just. Wake. Up!!!" Twilight exclaimed.
Nothing. The stallion did not move, did not get up, it seemed hopeless. Lunar Blight destroyed their cover and grabbed Twilight, pulling her close as she yanked her element from her crown. The six magical jewels circled around the mad mare as she tossed Twilight to the pile of rubble, a painful snapping sound echoed as Twilight yelped and whimpered in pain, feeling her bad wing take the collision into the rubble.
"Finally, I have the elements of Harmony, and that stupid, sunny rear-ended, cake stuffing sister is nowhere in sight! I won!!! THIS WORLD BELONGS TO ME, EMPERESS LUNAR BLI- Huh?" The alicorn's gloating of her victory was then interrupted by a mystical green glow coming from Everchange's unconscious body. A strange ethereal green tendril of energy jutted forward towards the alicorn, and pierced its armor. The Alicorn, too confused and too astonished by what had occurred, did not notice the strange glowing foreign piece being caught and retrieved by the energy tendril. Twilight, Lunar Blight, Trixie and Spike looked on as the strange piece fit itself over the gem, a huge crackle of blue and green sparks erupted from Everchange's wrist as the piece seemed to form and merge with the gem itself.
The piece was a strange circular object with an odd see-through lens on it, plus 4 green nodes on the rounded edges of such a thing. The strange piece seemed to act as a dial, or an energy focusing component, drawing in the unstable sparks, allowing the round piece to create a strange black coating around the white leather strap, morphing it into a watch of some sort. a watch face with a green Diamond emblem on it, and it began to cycle through these strange icons of the transformations Everchange has used thus far.
"Everchange?" Twilight called out. In a flash of light, the six elements had left Lunar Blight's side and began to transfer energy to the stallion. The energy from the elements began to imbue into Everchange's physical body, all while his green eyes snapped open, the elements were circling him, and he looked at the gem, now encased or properly powered up by this strange watch piece.
Everchange's brow furrowed, he gritted his teeth and glared at Lunar Blight. The elements retreated to their respected bearers, as all 6 ponies were lifted into the air, Everchange was lifted up as well, his eyes becoming entirely green as he felt the power of the elements and their bearers launch him towards Lunar Blight, and as one of Everchange's front hooves collided with the alicorn's chest, a huge green pillar of light and energy spikes up and shatters the roof as a rainbow shimmer shines in the crimson sky.
Soon enough, the crimson sky began to fade, and turn into that of a lustrous wonderful starry night sky, the blood moon dissipated as the moon shined its bright white luster once again, and the bat ponies, well, they eventually got rounded up by the actual royal guard, most of them being taken in to custody, as others retreated and escaped.
Celestia flew at a panicked speed, flying through the halls as she burst into the completely devastated Throne Room to see the elements are intact, Spike and Trixie wrapping an unconscious Lunar Blight in chains and bonds, and her nephew, standing over an unconscious mare as he tried to wake her up.
"Everchange, what- !?" Celestia could barely find the words to say, and upon looking at the mare he stood over, and looking back at Lunar Blight, she was more than just a bit confused with this strange development.
"Lunar Blight... My Mother... they were once both the same person. Lunar Blight was and still is a petty and malevolent entity, but by removing her from my mother's body... I was able to save her, and with the help of my Acquainta-.." Everchange caught himself, and cleared his throat, chuckling a bit, despite his injuries and the things he witnessed this night. "My... friends... with their assistance, I was able to channel a bit of the elements own power into a physical strike... that strike, coupled with this strange component empowering the gem in my wrist, it looked as if like the device itself was affected or in tune with the elements. It saw Lunar Blight as what her name sake is... a Blight, a malignant and chaotic disease that needed to be treated... Mother is alright, by the way, she's just going to need a couple days or so to rest and rid herself of the millennia long fatigue plaguing her body. The separation of Lunar Blight definitely seemed to prove to be quite ruthless on her..." Everchange explained.
"In short, Princess Celestia, Everchange is saying that if we didn't show up, he would've been the unwilling catalyst for Equestria's complete and total destruction." Twilight simplified.
The princess looked at the destruction wrought by the fearsome battle that occurred in the throne room, and sighed. She trotted through the destruction and tried to pick some of the rubble off of her throne, and looked to the ponies with a smile, only to be interrupted by the gagging and sneering of Lunar Blight.
"You think you've won?! I'll break out of these chains right now and seize control over this pathetic kingdom! I will re-bathe the moon's surface with your blood and be stronger than ever!" Lunar Blight threatened, using her magic on the chains, only to realize that it wasn't working. Everchange stepped towards the mad mare, raised his rear legs high and bucked the mad mare to the ground, cracking and fracturing the alicorn's horn, her jaw, and her dignity.
"Know thyne place on the pecking order! You are lower than dirt, lower than the very earthy rock we tread on every single day!! Just accept that you lost, and stop trying when you know you failed!!!" Everchange exclaimed sternly. The alicorn hissed and sneered, yet it refused to actually fight back this time, and to the stallion, that was good enough for him.
Through the use of the elements of harmony, Celestia soon banished Lunar Blight back to the surface of the moon, bound in chains and rendered magickless. All of Ponyville and Canterlot were being properly cleaned up and fixed after the events of last night, and things seemed to feel... resolute.
So why did he feel like this was just the beginning of something much, much more insane?
"Did you retrieve any information?"
"Yes my lord, we found latent energy signatures, and with the proper calculations, we have managed to deduce that we may have found it... the legends were in fact, true."
"Then I will bring my best ship, my best equipment, call in every favor I've accumulated in my years of conquest, and finally, the journey shall be over... and it'll be worth it."
"Um... one small problem, my lord. It would seem that someone was already in possession of what you seek. We recently received a huge energy spike from a small planet in a star system not too far from where you are concurrently. Shall I head there before you, announce your arrival?"
"No... I wish to make my arrival a secret. I will not cause another panic with the native species again, especially if whoever has the device is one of these natives."
"M-my lord, the Arburian Pelarotas were already on the verge of extinction, there was nothing you could've done."
"Nevertheless, I will not bring another species to extinction... many lives and extraterrestrial legacies were lost on this one journey, and if it means I can fix it... finding the device of myth will have made it all the worth it. Send a few drones down to the planet, My arrival will be long and patient... I'm intrigued to personally meet the warrior who found the device. This conversation is over."
"Understood, My lord."
a clicking sound is heard, as well as something powering down. In the darkness of this unknown location, two red eyes glowed in the darkness.
"I can only hope that the stars will guide me to the planet in time."