//------------------------------// // 11. One last chance // Story: My Little Pony the Movie 2: Secret of the Magic Pearl // by Italibaso //------------------------------// Skystar heard Queen Novo's voice in her head. She sounded very proud and was talking about the upcoming coronation that would happen after the Hippogriff Freedom Celebration. Everything Queen Novo had told her on that day was still fresh in Skystar's mind. About how proud she was of her for saving Equestria, as well as complimenting her bravery. It was enough prove for Queen Novo that her daughter was ready to become the new queen of the hippogriffs, but unfortunately Skystar thought otherwise. She remembered protesting against her mother, but she simply kept insisting to her daughter that she was more than ready. Just thinking about it again gave Skystar anxiety, the same kind she felt before the celebration. Her heart was beating fast, it was as if she was back on Mount Aris again. She saw herself opening the gate of the Hippogriff Kingdom in a panicked state and then flew away to- ''Skystar?'' Skystar gasped quietly when she heard her mother's voice out loud next to her. The small hippogriff's head turned to her right where she saw Queen Novo, flying high up in the sky above the great ocean. She had a concerned look on her face. Skystar sighed and stared down at the small waves of the ocean. ''You seem anxious, sweetheart. What's the matter?'' Queen Novo asked worriedly. ''Mom....'' Skystar said while not making any eye contact, ''....There's something I have to tell you.....'' ''About what?'' Queen Novo asked. ''....Back on Mount Aris....before the Hippogriff Freedom Celebration....'' Skystar said with much hesitation in her voice, ''I....I wasn't kidnapped by Callidus....'' ''What?'' Queen Novo asked while looking a bit surprised, ''Then by who?'' ''...No one.....'' Skystar eventually answered, her heart beating while having a somber look on her face, ''I...... I ran away from home....'' ''What?!'' Queen Novo responded out loud, ''B...But why?!'' ''.....Because I didn't feel like I was ready to become queen yet....'' Skystar finished. Queen Novo didn't say another word, instead she stared at Skystar with her mouth hanging open. It took her a full minute to take in what her daughter just said to her. All that time, she had accepted that it was Callidus who kidnapped her. But that reality had been completely shattered by just those few sentences from her daughter. ''I'm so sorry....'' Skystar said, sounding like she was on the verge of crying. Queen Novo stayed silent again for a moment and sighed, ''No.....I should be the one who's sorry.'' She said with her head hung low. ''What do you mean?'' Skystar asked as she finally decided to make eye contact with her mom. ''You're right.....you weren't ready yet,'' Queen Novo explained, ''And I should never have forced that position upon you so soon. I guess I was just so proud of you that I didn't take your feelings into account. I promise you, once we restore the pearl and Equestria is saved, I won't force you to become queen. Okay?'' Skystar stayed quiet for a moment before showing a little smile, ''Thank you, Mother. You really are the most pure and kind hippogriff in the whole wide world.'' She finished her sentence with a playful wink. Queen Novo looked at Skystar with a smile and struggled to hold back a small tear in her eye. It warmed her heart seeing her own daughter talk to her in such an endearing manner. Eventually Skystar looked back down somewhere at the ocean and noticed something familiar. ''Mother, look!'' Skystar said while pointing down to a small part of the ocean. Many memories of her first visit came back to haunt her as soon as Queen Novo set her eyes on the big black skull. Its empty eye holes were glowing menacingly. ''Never thought I'd ever see this place again.'' Queen Novo said to herself. Skystar was the first the set hoof on the beach of the island, with Queen Novo joining her a few seconds after. Unfortunately, the big pile of rocks from before was still blocking the way into the cave. Queen Novo groaned in frustration. ''Just our luck.'' Queen Novo said sarcastically. ''We're not just gonna let a bunch of rocks stop us from saving Equestria, are we mother?!'' Skystar said, her eyes filled with determination, ''Come on! No time to lose!'' She quickly flew over to the big pile of rocks blocking their way. Queen Novo looked suprised and watched for a moment as Skystar started removing many of the rocks in front of the cave one by one. A proud smile eventually appeared on the tall hippogriff's face. She ran over to her daughter and began removing the rocks along with her. Spike and the other ponies backed away from Twilight. Her evil smile and maniacal laugh sent shivers down their spines. An intense aura moved around her body, her eyes were glowing dark yellow and small bolts of lightning flickered from her horn. ''Finally....'' Twilight eventually said. ''Twilight?'' Spike said with a scared look on his face. ''Twilight?'' Twilight replied before letting out a sinister laugh, ''Hate to break it to you, little dragon. But Twilight is gone. I am Cladis, the spirit of destruction.'' ''Spirit of destruction?'' Fluttershy repeated as she started to become more afraid by the second. ''Did you honestly think I was defeated just because that stupid Daybreaker had turned Callidus into a pile of ash?!'' Twilight responded, ''No. She may have weakened my powers greatly, but I can still take control over any creature I desire. And the magic of your purple alicorn friend is more than enough to perish every single one of you.'' Spike backed away, looking beyond terrified at what the evil spirit Cladis had done to the pony who had raised him ever since he was first hatched from his egg. Twilight saw the fear in the little dragon's eyes. Suddenly she started to flinch, shutting her eyes and looking like she was in some kind of pain. The aura around her body disappeared and reappeared again every few seconds, the yellow glow in her eyes was also gone. ''No....get out....'' Twilight said to herself. ''What's going on?'' Rainbow Dash asked. ''She's trying to resist Cladis's control over her!'' Spike answered with a hopeful look on his face.. Twilight shook her head, causing the aura and her yellow glowing eyes to return. She growled fiercely and stared back at her friends. ''My my. You're a stubborn one, Twilight Sparkle,'' Twilight said to herself, ''But try as you might, you are under my total control now. And once I'm finished with your friends, the rest of Klugetown will be next.'' Twilight's horn glowed with a dark aura as she stared at Spike with an evil grin. Soon a magic blast emerged from her horn. The beam headed towards Spike. Rainbow Dash gasped, quickly grabbed the little dragon and dodged the magic blast just in time. ''Twilight, stop it!'' Spike shouted after Rainbow Dash had put him down, ''This isn't you!'' Twilight responded with another laugh, ''Are you deaf, little dragon?! I just told you, Twilight is gone! Cladis is all that remains.'' ''That's not true!'' Spike replied, ''The real Twilight is still in there!'' ''And we're going to do whatever it takes to get her back!'' Rainbow Dash added as she and the other ponies got ready to face Twilight. ''And how exactly do you plan on doing that?'' Twilight asked confidently. ''You'll see.'' Applejack said, thinking back to Queen Novo and Skystar's plan that Capper had told them about earlier. ''Oh, I'd LOVE to see you try.'' Twilight said as small bolts of lightning moved around her horn. No matter where or how far away she flew, Daybreaker followed Luna everywhere she went, attacking her with large blasts of fire that destroyed everything it touched. Forests got turned into ash, grass fields became waste lands. Luna looked down behind her and saw the destruction her sister was causing. She turned around, stopped flying away and quickly fired a magic blast of her own towards Daybreaker. The blast hit the fire alicorn on the chest with full force. She shrieked and got pushed back a bit, but quickly shrugged it off. ''Was that really your best?!'' Daybreaker exclaimed, ''Ha! Pathetic. Just like you always have been.'' Luna started panting steadily. She had just barely enough energy in her wings to be able to fly. ''Sister,'' Luna said in an exhausted tone, ''Everything you're saying right now isn't coming from you. I know the real you is still in there somewhere, tormented and consumed by your own guilt. What happened to Twilight back there isn't your fault. And we could still find a way to fix it, but you have to forgive yourself first.'' Daybreaker stayed quiet, looking conflicted while having no idea how to respond to what her sister was telling her. ''Twilight and her friends helped me overcome my darkness,'' Luna continued, ''Now let me help you overcome yours.'' Daybreaker still said nothing back and looked at Luna as if her words were slowly getting through to her. But it was short-lived as an evil glare came back in Daybreaker's eyes. She fired another fire blast at Luna, who quickly dodged it just in time. ''Did you really think that little speech would do anything?'' Daybreaker said after her same evil smile from before had returned, ''Just give up already, Luna! If you do, I will promise to let you live......ON THE MOON!!'' Daybreaker let out another maniacal laugh as the flames of her mane grew larger. Luna never thought she'd have to do this again, but it was clear that Celestia's new transformation had completely consumed her. Luna closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She knew that it was a big risk, and she had no idea how long she'd be able to control herself. But she couldn't think of any other way. ''I didn't want to do this....'' Luna said to Daybreaker, ''But if I can't get through to you with words, then I have no other choice....'' Luna used her magic to surround herself in a black orb. It started spinning, going faster and faster with each passing second. The spinning orb slowed down and eventually disappeared, revealing that Luna had transformed herself into Nightmare Moon once again. Luna still felt in control, and hoped deep inside she'd be able to keep it that way for as long as she could. ''I'll do what I have to in order to protect Equestria, and to save you!'' Nightmare Moon said, ''Even if it means fighting my own sister!'' Luna shot her own magic beam towards Daybreaker. She blocked the magic using her firey mane as a shield. Luna could tell from Daybreaker's expression that she was having trouble protecting herself from the attack. Eventually she managed to send Luna's magic blast back at her. Luna only barely managed to dodge the attack. ''Not bad,'' Daybreaker complimented, ''But I'm afraid it's gonna take alot more than that!'' Daybreaker surrounded herself with fire magic and made her way towards Luna with great speed. Luna quickly did the same with her own magic and flew straight at Daybreaker. The two collided with each other and immediately their magic created an intense pressure around them. It eventually caused the ground below them to shake as if it was a small earthquake. Everything in Klugetown had turned into a mess. Market stands had been turned into piles of wood, numerous holes in the walls of every building and shattered glass from windows littered every corner of the streets. The fight had caused so much damage that it became almost unrecognizable. Spears and axes were being thrown around all over the place within the battlefield. The storm guards did their best to stand up against the oncoming horde of creatures, all still under the influence of Callidus's dark magic spell from before. But no matter how long the fight went on or how many times the storm guards managed to land a hit, the oppossing creatures shrugged off every wound and didn't even seem to get any more tired. Capper, Captain Celaeno and the other pirates quickly joined in to help before the storm guards got overwhelmed. ''Never thought we'd ever be fighting side by side with you guys!'' Capper said to the storm guards in a joking manner. A shark creature wearing a dark purple scarf appeared out of the horde of other creatures and got ready to strike Celaeno with a sledgehammer. She ducked out of the way right as the shark swung his weapon as hard as he could in a horizontal motion. He was about to follow it up with another swing, but just as his hammer was about to hit Celaeno, one of the storm guards blocked the attack with his shield. Celaeno took her chance and kicked the shark in his stomach, hard enough for her to push the sharp toothed creature back a few feet. ''Thanks for the assist!'' Captain Celaeno complimented. ''Glad to see we still got it, boys!'' Boyle said to the other pirates while parrying the attacks from the opposing creatures with his hook. ''Squabble, behind you!'' Mullet exclaimed as he looked over to the cross-eyed bird. Squabble turned around and saw four angry looking pigs heading his way, all of them carrying sharp axes with them. The four pigs charged towards him while letting out a battle cry. Squabble squeaked loudly and got into a very particular looking fighting pose. The cross eyed bird punched and kicked the weapons out of their hands within a few seconds. He then quickly grabbed one of the pigs by the arm with both his claws, swung him around and threw the creature into the other three pigs. The group of pigs all flew back many meters futher into Klugetown. Squabble let out another squeaking sound and got into the same fighting pose as before to celebrate his victory. ''That bird is a whole new level of crazy.'' A storm guard commented, staring with raised eye brows after having witnessed the full fight. ''Good thing he's on our side.'' Another storm guard responded. In another part of the battlefield, Tempest held her own against a small group of fish creatures. The purple unicorn used her quick and effective fighting skills to make quick work of them. She then looked back over at Grubber, who was caught in a battle with a giant mouse creature carrying a machete as a weapon. It didn't take long for her to notice that the little hedgehog was starting to struggle a bit. Tempest quickly ran over to Grubber just as the mouse got ready to slice the little hedgehog in two. She kicked the weapon out of the mouse's claw and knocked the creature to the ground with another kick. ''You got some decent skills!'' Tempest said, loud enough to be heard through all the fighting happening around them, ''Where did you learn them from?!'' ''From you, of course!'' Grubber answered. ''How?! I don't remember ever training you!'' Tempest said. ''I used to spy on you during your training sessions!'' Grubber responded. Tempest blinked a few times as she looked at Grubber with widened eyes. Grubber's eyes widened as well, ''It's not as creepy as I made that sound, I promise.'' Tempest's attention turned back to the mouse creature, who had brought a bigger group of different creatures with him while her and Grubber had been talking. ''Well, time to see if all that spying was worth it!'' Tempest said to Grubber before the group of opposing creatures charged towards them. Before Spike and the other ponies had the chance to fight back, Twilight simply fired a magic wave towards all of her friends. Spike was the only one who managed to jump out of the way as the magic launched the other ponies further into the desert. Twilight's horn glowed intensely as her attention turned to her right, where Spike was looking at her with a frightened look on his face. ''No more pony friends to save you this time, little dragon.'' Twilight said, slowly approaching Spike with an evil smile on her face. Spike stepped back before tripping and falling on the sand. His heart was beating fast, unable to utter any words as he started crawling back. Spike eventually reached a small sand hill behind him that forced him to stop in his tracks. Spike placed his arms over his eyes and started shaking in fear, ''Twilight, please....'' Twilight's evil smile disappeared as soon as she heard the vulnerability in Spike's voice. The dark aura around her body started flinching again like before. She groaned in agony and tried to turn her horn away from the helpless little dragon. The yellow glow in her eyes also had dimmed down a bit. ''No....I can't.....'' Twilight said, sounding like she was struggling to utter the words. Spike removed his arms from his face. Spike looked hopeful again when he saw Twilight struggling against Cladis's control, but it was short-lived. Only a few seconds later, the dark aura around Twilight returned completely and the yellow glow in her eyes became even brighter than before. Twilight's head turned back to Spike with a stern look in her eyes. ''You annoying little pest,'' Twilight said in frustation as small bolts of lighting moved around her horn, ''I don't know how you're doing that, but it's not gonna work. It's time that I put an end to-'' Suddenly a big rainbow stream zoomed right past Spike and hit Twilight with full force. The purple alicorn shrieked and got knocked back. The rainbow stream quickly revealed itself to be a pissed off looking Rainbow Dash. The other ponies eventually showed up as well, ready to defend Spike and themselves against Twilight the moment she stood back up. ''You will NOT harm little Spikey Wikey!'' Rarity said. ''Why not pick on somepony your own size, Cladis?!'' Rainbow Dash added. Twilight's annoyed look soon got replaced by a look of confidence, ''Very well. If you really want me to end you that badly, I'll be more than happy to oblige.'' ''Remember, we don't have to hurt her,'' Applejack explained to her friends, ''We just gotta hold her off and buy Queen Novo enough time.'' ''Then everything will finally return back to normal.'' Fluttershy said. Twilight laughed, ''You five?! Against an alicorn?! I'd be impressed if you would last more than thirty seconds against me when I get serious.'' ''Sounds like a challenge,'' Pinkie Pie replied in a cocky manner, ''One that I happily accept!'' Twilight got ready to use her magic once again. Pinkie Pie quickly turned her mane into a drill and dug it into the desert, creating a small wave of sand that headed straight towards Twilight. The sand hit the alicorn in her eyes and blinded her vision. ''Now's our chance!'' Rainbow Dash said out loud. Applejack reached her hoof under her hat and pulled a long lasso from it. She ran over to Twilight and started tying her up while she was still blinded by the sand in her eyes. Rainbow Dash joined in and tried to restrain her, giving Applejack enough time to tie up the purple alicorn with ease. ''Hold her down!'' Applejack said as she tied the rope around Twilight's body. Fluttershy, Spike, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all came over, helping Applejack and Rainbow Dash to restrain Twilight with all their might. ''Impressed yet?!'' Pinkie Pie remarked to the struggling Twilight. Eventually Twilight made the sand in her eyes disappear with her magic. She then teleported herself out of the rope and reappeared behind Applejack and the others. ''I would be, except I haven't even gotten serious yet. But now....'' Twilight said as a menacing look showed up on her face, ''Now I'll show you the true terror of an alicorn's power!'' The dark aura around Twilight's body got more and more intense. Her friends stood their ground and got ready to face her head-on without trying to show any fear. Even though they were running, it still felt like a really long way through the dark tunnel. But eventually they stumbled upon a small beam of light in the distance. Skystar and Queen Novo saw the small flickering light and instantly knew what it meant. ''We made it! Let's go!'' Skystar said. Queen Novo and Skystar rushed to the flickering light together as fast as they could. The two hippogriffs finally stepped out of the dark tunnel. Queen Novo saw the pearl inside the mouth of the skull on the pillar. Knowing what was at stake, she didn't waste another second and headed over to the pillar. She reached out and placed her claw on the pearl. A familiar bright dot slowly appeared in the center of the pearl. ''It's working! It's working!'' Skystar said excitedly when the light in the center of the pearl slowly began to shine brighter. Queen Novo was relieved to see the pearl starting to return to its normal state, but it didn't last long. A small group of black magical vines began to emerge from the pearl and tied themselves around Queen Novo's arm. She immediately pulled herself away from the pearl before the vines had a chance to consume the rest of her body. The black vines released Queen Novo's arms, but still remained around the pearl, moving around like a group of limbs without any bones. The tall hippogriff tried to get closer to the pearl again, but the vines tried to wrap around her claws again the moment she got too close to the pillar. Skystar gasped and quickly pulled Queen Novo away before the vines could catch her again. ''I....I don't understand,'' Skystar said in disbelief, ''Why didn't it work?'' ''I don't know......'' Queen Novo said before she looked back at Skystar, ''Perhaps I'm not the one who......'' ''The one who what?'' Skystar asked curiously. Queen Novo stayed quiet. Skystar could tell by the look her mother's face that she was pondering about something. ''the one who what, mother?!'' Skystar asked again worriedly. ''.....Nothing,'' Queen Novo said, ''Just stay back and let me handle this.'' Her attention turned back to the pearl. She took a deep breath and took another step closer without saying a word. ''Mother?'' Skystar said in suprise. She quickly flew in front of the tall hippogriff before she got too close to the pillar again. ''Skystar, move aside.'' Queen Novo said calmly. ''....It's me, isn't it?'' Skystar said, ''I'm the one who has to touch the pearl.'' ''No!'' Queen Novo responded sternly, ''It's too dangerous!'' ''But then what's the other option?!'' Skystar asked. ''I just have to try again! Perhaps it just takes awhile before the pearl turns back to normal!'' Queen Novo explained. ''How do you know for sure?!'' Skystar asked again. ''I don't!!'' Queen Novo retaliated. Skystar stayed silent, taken back by Queen Novo's response. Queen Novo sighed, ''Skystar, I'm sorry. I truly am. But I just.....I don't want to lose my little girl again.'' Skystar pondered for a bit before speaking up, ''....But I'm not a little girl anymore.'' Skystar said calmly with a serious look on her face. The tone in Skystar's voice caused Queen Novo to look surprised. She could not believe those words were coming out of her daughter's mouth. Skystar let out a small sigh, ''I can't run from it any longer, mother. That's the only thing I've been doing today, running away from all my problems and responsibilities. And you've seen how that turned out.'' ''Skystar, don't say that,'' Queen Novo said with a concerned look on her face, ''Not of this is on you. Now if you just listen-'' ''No, you listen!'' Skystar said before her mother could finish, ''Ever since you read me that book on Mount Aris you've always been telling me what it takes to be a queen, right? Well....I'm ready now. You have to let me do this, for our friends and all of Equestria.'' Queen Novo was speechless. She could hear the determination in Skystar's voice. ''It's only gonna get worse if I don't do something right now,'' Skystar continued, ''Please, mother. This could be our one last chance.'' Queen Novo looked at her daughter and saw the determination in her eyes. No matter how much she was trying to argue with herself, it seemed like there was truly no other option left. She pulled Skystar close to her and embraced the small hippogriff in what could be their last hug. Skystar hugged back as a small tear ran down her cheek. ''There's no one in this world more pure and kind than you, sweetheart....'' Queen Novo said, trying her best to keep it together, ''Never forget that.'' ''.....I won't.'' Skystar responded, trying to sound as brave as she could. Eventually she decided to let go and look her mother in the eyes for what could be her last time. Suddenly the black magic vines around the pearl grew larger and started heading straight towards Skystar. Queen Novo noticed it just in time. ''Look out!'' Queen Novo said out loud. The tall hippogriff pushed Skystar away from herself and the pearl. The vines missed the small hippogriff and latched onto Queen Novo instead. Skystar looked at her mother and saw how big the black vines around the pearl had become. They slowly started wrapping themselves around Queen Novo's body. ''MOTHER!!'' Skystar shouted in horror. ''Skystar, the pearl!'' Queen Novo replied as she was struggling. The black magic from the vines slowly started to consume her. Skystar knew what she was trying to tell her and looked back at the dark pearl inside the small skull. It was now or never, she ran to the small pillar as fast as she could. Another group of vines emerged from the pearl and tried to catch Skystar. She was able to just barely dodge them and eventually reached the pillar. As she was about to touch the pearl however, the vines managed to catch her by the arms and legs. Skystar felt how the things tried to stop her from moving, but she didn't give up. With every ounce of her strength in her body she managed to move her arms towards the skull, getting an inch closer to the pearl with each passing second. Just before the black magic from the vines was about to consume her head, Skystar finally felt her claws touching the corrupted pearl.