Ponies far and wide were getting ready for the annual Summer Sun Celebration just like the past two celebrations, being held this year in Canterlot. Princess Cadence, ruler of the Crystal Empire, was more than eager to be with her fellow alicorns to celebrate the 1,002nd anniversary of the Sun Princess's solo reign over Equestria. Plus it would give her own daughter, Flurry Heart, a chance to experience an old Equestrian tradition for the first time.
Speaking of her daughter, the baby alicorn flew over to her mother and gave her a hug as she giggled.
Cadence looked at her and playfully growled, Flurry taking that as the cue to flee before she was followed by the older Princess, the two playing bears and running around the area.
A unicorn stallion walked into the room and ducked under the baby with a chuckle before he watched his wife fly around as he asked, "Flurry got you to play bears with her again, huh?"
Cadence landed by her husband, Shining Armor, and giggled as she responded, "Yeah, I know she's got a knack for this sort of stuff. And I don't mind in the slightest." She smiled as she looked up at Flurry, who had landed on her head, and stroked her mane before she looked at her husband again as she asked a question of her own: "So have you heard from Twilight and the others?"
"Thorax actually told me that he got a letter from Spike today," Shining smiled happily. "Twily's heading off to the Everfree Forest because she had a last minute thing come up. Not exactly sure what it was, but it felt like a serious magical surge, so she's sending the others along ahead of her."
Cadence rolled her eyes a bit. "Typical Twilighting," she chuckled.
Flurry Heart suddenly felt something off in her horn and her nose before she let off a loud sneeze, the resulting magical blast knocking her off of Cadence's head and sending the shot across the room before it exploded out the window.
The two parents looked out in surprise, having had ducked in time to avoid getting their heads blown off before they looked at Flurry, who was rubbing her nose with her hoof.
Cadence went to Flurry and helped her up, looking at Shining worriedly. "That's odd. Flurry hasn't had a discharge like that since the Crystalling. Do you think this is significant?"
Shining was about to respond before he felt a trembling below his hooves and he cast a spell to keep his wife and daughter steady as the trembling was felt all across the land, an earthquake that sent the ponies outside scrambling for cover to dodge the rubble as he looked at her. "Yeah, I'd say that's very significant."
In a different area of Equestria, the Everfree Forest to be precise, a timberwolf grey pony with blonde hair and silver eyes saw a book open on its own, gasping in realization. "Oh no, the darkness is out again!"
Within a more dangerous part of the Everfree, a dark blue mist was emerging as a dark voice spoke up, the voice ever so familiar: "Soon I'll have my revenge on the ponies that wronged me and this world will be drained of its magic and hope! You ponies better be ready for a retribution of major proportions!" A pair of slit pupiled green eyes glowed brightly in the light as the former Changeling Queen laughed wickedly.
Meanwhile at the Canterlot train station, a group of six mares and one purple dragon were making their way off the Friendship Express and into the city towards the castle.
"I'm so glad Twilight sent us ahead of her. We've really got a lot to cover for this Summer Sun Celebration before she gets here," The fashionista Rarity, also the Element of Generosity, informed her friends as she put on a pair of red work glasses and levitated a list up in her blue aura.
"OOH!! Are you girls excited?! I'm excited! Flurry Heart's first Summer Sun Celebration! WHOO-HOO!" Pinkie Pie, the manic mare who was the Element of Laughter, pulled out a party cannon and blew confetti into the air with a squeaky toy sound effect.
Rainbow Dash, the speedster Element of Loyalty, rubbed her ears slightly and responded, "Yeah, I think Flurry's gonna be pretty excited too."
"You'd better not scare the poor filly, Pinkie Pie. I'm sure Cadence and Shining Armor would want a word with you if you did," the gentle Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, told her.
Applejack, the hard-working Element of Honesty, chuckled a bit and smiled at the girls. "Aw, quit frettin'. Twilight said she'd only be an hour behind us, so I don't think we need to worry too much."
"Famous last words," Spike the dragon spoke quietly from atop the lavender unicorn's back.
Even Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's protégé and a powerful magic user in her own right, had a bad feeling about this Celebration. It seemed that every one since Nightmare Moon had a dangerous threat worse than the last, and there was also the fact that Chrysalis was still at large and who knew what she could be planning?
Rarity noticed the look on her fellow unicorn's face and placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Darling, are you alright?"
Starlight shook her head quickly to refocus and looked at Rarity with a smile and a response, "Yeah, just thinking about how wonderful this Summer Sun Celebration will be without any evil threats." She chuckled nervously.
"I'll say! We fought off a tyrannical Princess who went evil and tried to cover the entire word in eternal night before dealing with crazy pony eating plants spread out by Discord before he was defeated the first time - " Pinkie stopped her recounting when she realized whom she was talking about and chuckled nervously, looking to the skies. "No offense, Discord."
"Oh, none taken, dear Pinkie," a Draconeques appeared in a flash of light with a smile. "I honestly should have learned from those mistakes long ago. But truthfully, those seeds are delicious snacks when roasted. You should try some soon."
"Eh, maybe later," Rainbow smiled at Discord casually.
Suddenly, a pair of shadows flew over and landed by them, one a colorful green Changeling who had been reformed and made the new leader of his kind, and the other a blue dragon who looked to be in her teenage years judging by her wings.
Spike and Starlight immediately recognized the newcomers with respective calls of: "Ember!" "Thorax!"
The unicorn galloped over to them as Spike held on, with her stopping and giving both of their friends a hug as did he.
Ember smiled sheepishly before she spoke, "I'm so glad Twilight asked us to come and experience an old pony tradition. I had no idea that the two sisters were the ones behind it all!"
Spike chuckled and answered, "Actually, that's mostly Princess Celestia's doing. Luna only recently got to be helping her."
Starlight cleared her throat and looked at Thorax, "So do you think Twilight's gonna be okay?"
"I sure hope so. I asked Pharynx to help keep her safe, and after that earthquake this morning, I'm starting to get a bad feeling that we've got serious trouble coming," Thorax told them.
Pinkie had walked over while they were talking and agreed, "I know, right? Just before the earthquake, my hooves were tapping before my knees shook. For my Pinkie Sense, that usually means that there's an earthquake coming."
Applejack nodded in agreement. "Ah know we don't usually get earthquakes though, so something's wrong."
Starlight looked at the rest of the girls worriedly and suggested, "Let's get to the castle and talk it over with everyone there." She started trotting down the street, the others following by either trotting or flying.
Unknown to them, a cloaked pony was observing them, humming in thought before he turned and disappeared.
Back in the Everfree Forest, junior Princess and Element of Magic Twilight Sparkle was scanning the area, a magenta colored aura coming off her horn. "These magic surges are off the charts. I've never seen anything like this before."
Pharynx, a darker colored reformed Changeling unlike Thorax, looked at Twilight and spoke up, "I don't like this, Princess. We could be walking into dangerous territory."
The young alicorn regarded her friend and nodded, "Maybe. We are going into an unknown part of the Everfree Forest, so it wouldn't surprise me if something like a cragadile attacked us."
She couldn't have been more right yet wrong at the same time; just then, a bunch of odd bipedal creatures jumped out and surrounded the two, growling and snarling at them.
Pharynx looked at the creatures in shock as he stood by Twilight ready to attack. "What in Equestria are these things?!"
"I have no idea! I've never seen anything like them before!" Twilight said in equal surprise as she looked around at their adversaries.
The two stayed back to back, waiting for the Hidiacs to attack, and one did. Or... at least tried to.
Twilight saw it coming and blasted it with magic, turning it into a ball. "Okay, a little soccer practice never hurt. Lucky for me, I learned some tricks from Human Rainbow Dash while at Canterlot High!" She used her hooves to kick the Hidiac ball up and bucked it at the other Hidiacs, knocking some down before she bucked the rebounding ball again and sent it into another group. "Spin kick!" She jumped and twisted in midair before using her right backhoof to send it flying into the remaining Hidiacs, destroying them as she landed on all fours.
Pharynx smiled at her, "Nice! Guess you really learned a lot in that other world."
Twilight smiled and blushed proudly.
"Oh, yes. A marvelous display of your fighting prowess, Princess," A familiar voice rang out as Chrysalis stepped into the light.
Twilight saw her and flared her horn in response. "Chrysalis!"
"I thought you turned tail and fled!" Pharynx was equally disturbed.
"Oh, I did, Pharynx. But in my isolation, I found some allies who were more than eager to assist me," The evil Changeling grinned wickedly as the dark blue mist appeared and took a form that wasn't new to Twilight, but was still terrifying to see.
Twilight's ears folded down in horror. "The Nightmare Force?!"
"Oh, but she's not the only one." A new bipedal figure walked out and joined the two villains; she looked almost like a human bat to say the least.
"Who's your new friend?" Pharynx asked curiously.
Chrysalis smiled and walked over to the bat woman. "This is Sanguisa. She's one of the Morlock Generals under Octomus."
Twilight suddenly perked up as she heard Octomus' name being said. "I know that name! He was the main monster who fought the Mystic Force!"
"Don't speak about that wretched team that changed my sister's loyalty!" Sanguisa hissed angrily at Twilight, making the Princess shrink back slightly.
"Easy, Sanguisa," The Nightmare Force spoke calmly, soothing the woman. "But on that note, I think it's about time we teach everypony what a true nightmare is."
"Like Tartarus you are!" Twilight charged up her horn and blasted the Nightmare Force, but it simply allowed the shot to pass through it before it flew at Twilight and started engulfing her.
Pharynx growled and charged his own horn for an attack, but he was picked up by Twilight's magenta aura. "Huh?"
"Pharynx, get to Canterlot and warn the others!" Twilight told him urgently as she struggled to hold a shield against the Nightmare Force and Chrysalis, who was also battering Twilight's shield with a sickly green blast of magic. "I can hold them off here!"
Pharynx frowned slightly as he saw how dangerously close to shattering her shield was. "I can't just leave you!"
"There's no time to argue, go!!" She flung him into the air so he had a head start before getting knocked back a good ways as her shield broke apart, smacking her head against a tree with a grunt and collapsing on the ground, her vision darkening as the villains closed in on her before she passed out.
Back in Canterlot, the Mane Five plus Spike, Starlight, Ember, and Thorax, met up with a couple of other unicorn friends on their way to the castle; a periwinkle colored unicorn mare with light periwinkle hair and light purple eyes and an orange unicorn stallion with blue eyes hidden behind round glasses, white patches on his snout and hooves, and messy darker orange hair, including a goatee.
Trixie smiled as she was recounting her ideas for the festival, "I've asked Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about making a fireworks display with the Princesses' Cutie Marks and the Cutie Marks of you and the others, plus making one for Spike so he's not left out. That way, Equestria knows it's not just Twilight helping to protect the world, it's all of you as well!"
Sunburst wasn't responding as he was nose deep in a research paper he had been working on.
Starlight took notice and looked at him, "You okay?"
Sunburst looked over and nodded, "Yeah, just working on some research."
"Like what?" Starlight tilted her head curiously.
Sunburst looked at her and levitated his paper to her. "It's about an ancient tome I found recently. The markings on it are incredibly intricate. I've never seen anything like it."
Starlight looked at it as he spoke, seeing the design of the markings that had been rubbed and scratching her chin in thought. "Hmm... it looks to me like a spell seal... ancient archaic Pony magic at that."
"That's exactly what I thought, too," he told her. "But what could it possibly have sealed off? Or... dare I say... what kind of evil magic could have been sealed in?"
At the Canterlot Castle, Celestia was signing off on some things for the festival while Luna was talking with some of the delegates.
Once Luna bowed to the delegates and saw them off, she sighed softly as her wings dropped.
Celestia noticed and passed the papers to the delegate before she walked over and smiled as she placed a comforting hoof on Luna's shoulder, "A lot of hard work for a princess, especially one who's just rejoining the fray."
Luna smiled back at Celestia, "I know it is, sister. But that's not what worries me."
Celestia tilted her head curiously. "Then what is it?"
Luna looked up at her elder sister as she explained, "Last night when I was patrolling the dreamscape, I could swear I saw the Nightmare Force drifting about. I can't be too certain because it fled the scene as soon as it saw me."
Celestia frowned slightly and stroked her chin with her hoof thoughtfully. "I don't see how that could be possible. The last time anyone had heard from the Nightmare Force was when you were Nightmare Moon."
Luna nodded slightly, "I know, and that terrifies me to no end. If the Nightmare Force is truly back, it could possess any one of us it so chooses."
Suddenly Pharynx flew through an open window, skidding to a stop and breathing heavily.
Celestia saw Pharynx and went to him, "Pharynx! Are you alright?"
"Where's Twilight?" Luna was equally as concerned.
"Chrysalis... back... Nightmare... Bat woman... Twilight... captured..." Pharynx breathed out.
The Royal Sisters gasped in shock, their ears folding down as Luna shouted, "That! Cannot! Be possible!"
Back in the Everfree Forest, Chrysalis was ecstatic about the new opportunity they had. "Finally! We have the means to destroy the ponies! I will admit though, I'm surprised by your decision to make Twilight into a corrupted version of herself, Nightmare." She looked at her fellow equine companion, the Nightmare Force now having had taken on the form of Nightmare Moon.
"I have seen this form within Young Sparkle's memories. She herself has not experienced it, but rather an alternate counterpart of hers that Celestia's former student Sunset Shimmer has told her about, and that gave me a little bit of inspiration for the new Midnight Sparkle." Nightmare explained. "What better way to unleash it that to let Sanguisa infuse some of the Master's magic in my spell to ensure that our little junior Princess here stays loyal to us and us alone?"
Chrysalis smiled at its confidence. "A fair point. There's no way the Elements would fight their leader, and there's no chance that the Elements can be used anyway, not with the lynchpin on our side!" She laughed as she looked at the darkened quadruped figure before them both.
Back in Canterlot, Pinkie suddenly started shaking and shivering like crazy. "Holy cupcakes above! This one's a real doozy!" Her voice shook with her as she spoke.
Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike froze when they heard Pinkie and spoke in tandem. "D-did you..." "...j-just say..." "...wh-what we..." "...think you said?"
"Hate to say it, but yep!" Pinkie quivered with her voice before she suddenly froze solid.
At that instant, Hidiacs appeared from a spell seal and started attacking ponies, causing them to flee in terror and scream.
Trixie screamed in fright and dashed to safety behind a building.
Rarity's eyes widened in shock. "My goodness! I've never seen such creatures like these!!"
"Who cares what they are?! Let's stop them before they hurt somepony!" Rainbow shouted, prompting the ponies into action, Sunburst, Thorax, and Ember helping to get the ponies to safety.
Rarity and Starlight blasted some of the Hidiacs with offensive spells as Spike blew fire from his mouth, burning other Hidiacs.
Applejack got busy bucking and punching the Hidiacs down, not having any trouble with them since they weren't Changelings.
Rarity saw a couple of Hidiacs coming at Spike before she jumped into the air and delivered a corkscrew kick with a karate shout, landing on two hooves in a battle stance. "Try it, punks!"
Pinkie Pie looked at the Hidiacs around her and smirked as she pulled out a party cannon. "Say hello to my exploding friend!" She unleashed a volley of confetti blasts at a rapid fire pace, knocking them down.
Rainbow and Fluttershy flew around to confuse a few Hidiacs before they nodded to each other and flew towards each other, swerving in opposite directions at the last second as the two Hidiac groups collided head on.
Applejack saw some of Starlight's magic hit a Hidiac and turn it into a ball before she got an idea. "Anypony for Buckball?" She kicked up the Hidiac ball and bucked it to Rainbow Dash.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow zipped up and smacked the ball back down with her hoof into another group before she spun and punched it to Pinkie. "Pinkie, mace toss!"
"Roger that!" Pinkie caught the ball with her tail and spun her tail like a mace, knocking some Hidiacs down before she released the ball into the air. "Alley-oop!"
Fluttershy flew up next and did a spinning midair flip while holding the ball with her own tail before she launched it down into another group of Hidiacs before she caught the ball and threw it to Starlight and Rarity.
The unicorns nodded to each other and created a hoop with their magic while Spike shot fire to encircle it. True to the shot from the timid Pegasus, the Hidiac ball shot through the hoop and slammed into the other Hidiacs with a loud explosion.
"BOOM BABY!!!" Pinkie threw her hooves into the air victoriously.
Rainbow looked around and saw more Hidiacs coming. "Don't celebrate yet, Pinkie!" She landed with the others in a circle as they were surrounded from all corners.
"Oh boy, where's Twilight when you need her?" Starlight was starting to panic. It seemed like the ponies would be doomed to fail this time, when suddenly...
"HIYAH!!" The cloaked figure who had been watching the group kicked a few Hidiacs down before landing on all fours and blasting the other Hidiacs with a massive ring of fire.
The Mane Seven were stunned; they'd never seen anything like that from a pony!
The figure threw his hood off to reveal a red unicorn stallion with bluish green eyes and a curly brown mane as he stood tall, looking at the group. "Is everyone okay?"
Fluttershy snapped out of her stupor first as she smiled. "That... was..."
"COOLEST THING EVER!!!" Pinkie finished for her friend as she grinned excitedly.
"It was way more cooler than the most epic and coolest thing I've ever done!" Rainbow exclaimed as she flew in a rapid circle around the stallion before stopping.
Applejack walked over and smiled. "We're fine thanks to you, partner." She shook hooves with the stallion. "But can you explain what in the ponyfeathers those things were?"
The stallion nodded before he helped Spike on to his back, looking at the others. "Let's get inside the castle first. I have someone there waiting for me." He led the girls to the gates and saluted to the guards as they stood back for him and opened the door.
Inside, the group saw the Royals talking with the gray unicorn mare from the Everfree Forest and slowly dispersed out, Spike getting down and heading to Shining Armor. "Shining, what's going on?"
Shining looked at the baby dragon his sister had raised and hugged him, shaking fearfully. "Twilight's been captured by Chrysalis and the Nightmare Force."
"Wait a minute, what's the Nightmare Force? And how come we've never heard of it before?" Pinkie asked him in confusion.
Luna stepped forward to respond to Pinkie's question: "It is that force that was expelled when you brave souls saved me from Nightmare Moon through usage of the Elements of Harmony. I thought it lost for the longest time since then, but apparently it has simply been regaining its strength, biding its time until it came back stronger than before."
"And with the Nightmare Force and Chrysalis coming back, they've brought along something just as dangerous if not more so." The female unicorn stepped forward.
Starlight looked at the newcomers curiously, almost as if she had seen them before. "Who are you two though? Not to mention, how do you know so much about what happened to all of us in the past?"
Spike walked up next to Starlight as he examined the unicorn cousins before he suddenly spoke up with wide eyes: "Oh! I know exactly who they are!" He looked at the Mane Six and smiled as he explained, "One of Twilight's books she usually gives me for a present explained about a war between the most magical ponies and dark forces that wanted to eliminate the magic from all of Equestria! It was only by the hands of the Mystic Force Pony Rangers that the evil was defeated!"
The stallion chuckled and smiled. "Your elder sister really did teach you a lot, little dragon." He removed his cloak, as did his companion, both of them revealing wings about the same size as Luna's and Cutie Marks that were nearly identical due to the stylized M save for a red flame behind his M and a silver crescent moon behind her M.
The girls gasped in shock and amazement as the saw the now fully revealed alicorns before them.
Celestia smiled as she went to Nick and lowered her head slightly. "It's been a long time since your family has visited Canterlot, Bowen. I'm sorry these had to be serious circumstances for such a meeting."
Nick chuckled slightly and bowed in return, as did Clare. "Clare and I are always glad to help, Princess."
Rarity blinked in confusion before she cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt this wonderful little reunion, but how does it explain what exactly happened to Twilight?"
Clare looked over and smiled, "Right, we should explain ourselves." She lit up her horn in a light purple aura and made a projection hit the floor which showed their past as Nick explained it to them all.
Spike and the girls listened and watched with rapt attention, with the occasional yelp from Fluttershy and Rarity's squeals of excitement.
But what really got their attention was the Ranger suits, each of them seeing a bit of themselves as a Ranger.
After the projection finished, Clare stopped her magic. "We thought we'd seen the last of the Morlocks, but we were wrong. Recently, the magical surges your Princess had been detecting were from the dark magic seal. Nick and I have reason to suspect that Chrysalis and Nightmare have joined forces to unlock the seal keeping the Morlocks in and unleash Octomus on this world as vengeance against you girls and us."
Spike stroked his chin in thought. "It makes sense. Taking Twilight and turning her into one of their loyal followers would render the Elements of Harmony useless against them. The worst part is, Chrysalis knows this. She's a tactician by nature. She tried it before when attempting to wed Shining and invade Canterlot."
"And she did it again when she kidnapped the royals and Equestria's last line of defense a few months ago, only to be stopped when I helped save everypony." Starlight agreed.
"But what can we do to help? It's like Spike said, we can't use the Elements without Twilight," Rainbow mentioned worriedly.
Nick smirked, "Now that's where we come in." He went to Clare as she levitated a box out of her cloak and passed it over to his deep red aura before he walked over, setting the box down in front of the Mane 7 and explaining to them, "I saw how you all fought earlier. You work extremely well as a team and especially when it comes to defending each other, you're all just as coordinated. So it feels right to choose you as the new Pony Rangers." He lifted the lid of the box to reveal five gold colored cellphones, a silver colored cellphone on the right end, and a white colored cellphone on the left end.
The six ponies and the dragon walked up and each claimed their own Morpher as Nick turned to Applejack first. "Applejack, as the Element of Honesty, your family roots hold strong like the trees you grow. As the Green Mystic Ranger, you'll have control over the earth itself and become the Mystic Minotaur."
Applejack smiled and chuckled wryly, "Earth Pony, earth powers. Yeah, that about fits me."
Clare stepped forward, looking at Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter. Your free spirit knows no bounds when it comes to making friends, a perfect fit for the Pink Mystic Ranger. You'll be able to control the wind much like a Pegasus and transform into the Mystic Sprite, small but fierce."
Pinkie nodded. "Makes sense to me."
Nick went to Fluttershy and placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "Fluttershy, you are as fluid as you are kind. Your caring nature has earned you the powers of the Blue Mystic Ranger, with command over water and the ability to become the Mystic Mermaid."
Fluttershy blushed proudly and smiled. "I'll do my best... for Equestria and for Twilight."
Clare went to Rainbow then. "Rainbow Dash, is there anything to say that doesn't make you sound more awesome? You're as fast as lightning, maybe even faster, and you're so loyal no one even compares to you. That makes you the best pony to fill the Yellow Mystic Ranger role, utilizing the lightning to your advantage and gaining the power to become the Mystic Garuda as needed."
Rainbow went wide-eyed as she started fangirling, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" She grinned excitedly.
Nick walked over to Rarity and bowed to her. "Lady Rarity, there's no denying your generous spirit and your beauty which matches the winter snow. For this, you're chosen as the White Mystic Ranger, with the beauty of the snow itself and the power of the Mystic Yuki-Onna, or Snow Queen if you prefer."
Rarity blushed slightly and smiled at Nick. "And I shall face each challenge with hope for everypony."
Clare walked over to Starlight. "Starlight Glimmer, once a villain who threatened all of history, now a reformed mare who has helped to save Equestria with some great friends. You've earned the title of Silver Mystic Ranger with the ability to travel through time itself and the power to become the Mystic Wyvern."
Starlight smiled proudly. "This time around, I'm not screwing up the timeline for selfish reasons."
Spike counted the Rangers and frowned. "That means only the Red Ranger is left." He thought for a second before realizing, "Which means...!"
"That's right, Spike." Nick went to the baby dragon and smiled. "Your courage is undeniable and you understand your elder sister so much that you could lead this team as well as her. I believe you'll be an excellent Red Ranger. As such, you'll be able to control fire better, much like myself, and you'll gain the power to become the Mystic Phoenix."
Spike gulped nervously at the words. "I... I don't know. This is... this is a lot to put on my shoulders. I haven't even sprouted my wings yet! How in Equestria am I gonna be able to handle being Red Ranger?!"
A wing draped over Spike's shoulder as Cadence smiled at him. "I know what it feels like, Spike. Celestia, Luna, and I all have to rule over Equestria and the Crystal Empire. It's never as easy as it looks, having to command the armies around to ensure the safety of the crystal ponies and be a supportive influence for them, as well as taking care of my own family in the process." She smiled as Flurry Heart landed by Spike and hugged him before continuing, "I know you know Twilight, and you've made great choices for others while acting as her voice before. I believe Nick has the right choice in mind for Red Ranger."
"So do I, Spike," Shining Armor stepped forward as well, shocking the Mane 6.
Spike looked at him in surprise. "Shining?"
The unicorn stallion ruffled his baby brother's spikes and told him, "You're a lot stronger than you think, little bro. You always manage Twily's stuff when she's gone on a friendship mission or whatever else there are, and you helped me see that there can be a way to change for all the Changelings... well, except Chrysalis, but I expect her to get her just desserts eventually." He smirked at the mention of Chrysalis, prompting everypony to laugh at that comment.
"Somepony mention my name?" A familiar voice rang out before the side of the building exploded, Shining and Nick shielding the group with their magic as rubble pelted it, before the dust cleared to reveal Chrysalis, armored and rearing for battle. "Missed me, dear?"
To be continued...