Summer Shine opened her eyes as she heard the rotors grow slower. The air felt cold against her skin once more and as she breathed, a puff of frost exited her mouth, dissipating into the air outside. She blinked a few times to rid the soreness from her eyes, then leaned up as the helicopter doors were opened. Her whole body still felt as though a road roller had run over her after she had run a full marathon and it took her some time to get out of the vehicle now that her adrenaline had worn off.
Once outside, she found that the sky had already turned dark and they were back in Leipzig, the closest town to Mount Fegel. Looking at the mountain now, everything looked so still and calm, as though nothing had happened since their journey to the mountain.
According to one of Dolfy’s men, all the hospitals around Berlin had been activated to rescue and care for those who had been displaced from the Nugget People attack. Already, rescue teams had been dispatched to the city’s ruins to search for survivors. Summer didn’t know how many people could survive in a mostly submerged city that had been shaken by the Nugget fortress coming out of the ground, but the picture of people flying in there to help other people they didn’t know gave her confidence in the human race. Not all of them were as bad as Mhagmea had said and there was still hope that they could all become better than they were before. Even word had gotten around that the various prospectors that had come all this way for the Nugget Run had mobilized to help those in need, giving up some of the gold they had found to fund rescue operations.
“Sushi? Sushi!”
Summer recognized that voice very clearly and turned around as her mother barreled into her, grabbing her around the shoulders as she pressed her face against hers.
“M-Mom?! How… You’re here?” Summer asked, bewildered. She was safe. She wasn’t in danger as her dreams had shown her. It was just her mind being paranoid.
“Courtesy of Weather Alternate. Take it as returning the favor for the trouble caused.” Dolfy Horner appeared from around the chopper, his metal legs gleaming under the lamplight, his pants now rolled up. “It took them some convincing that this wasn’t a trap, but I thought they could help in the final battle, seeing as they took down every agent I sent against them. Unfortunately, my men weren’t as quick to get here as I would’ve liked them to be, but at least here they are all the way from Canterlot.”
“I couldn’t get you on the phone.” Sunset Shimmer stroked her daughter’s head. “But it’s so good to see you, Sushi, my dear daughter. And you did it! You ended the threat of the Nugget People. And you made some friends, I see.”
Summer followed her gaze to see her looking at Bushido Spirit as he and Jojo exited the chopper, with the latter using a crutch as support.
“Yeah, I sure did.” Summer blushed and her mother could immediately guess what she was thinking of. “Mom, wait, Prism, Fuchsia, have you see them?”
“What’s all the worry for, Sushi? You think we died or something?” Prism Dash suddenly ran in from the darkness, accompanied by Fuchsia, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. “Nope. I’m too awesome for death.”
“Prism!” Summer ran over to her and grabbed her in a bear hug. “You’re completely okay! I thought you got… burned.”
“Weather Alternate had flown Fuchsia and I back before they came to help you out.” Prism pointed a thumb at herself. “When our parents came, your mom reset my body back to its former glory, all thanks to Alicorn Fantasy.”
“Oh yeah, it could do that, huh?” Summer nodded, remembering her mother’s Stand had powerful abilities.
“And your next words are… ‘It’s sure good to be back among familiar faces’...”
Summer rubbed the back of her head. “It’s sure good to be back among familiar faces. Wait…”
“Surprise!” Jostle Joyride popped up behind Pinkie, wearing a pair of shades.
“Dad!” Jojo went over to meet him. Jostle put an arm around him and ruffled his head. “You won’t believe what’s happened all the way here.”
“You won’t believe what’s been happening back home!” Jostle laughed. “When Weather Alternate suddenly approached us without the intention to kill us, I had my suspicions, but a Joyride is never wrong and we followed them here to help you kill the Nugget People.”
“But it looks like you didn’t need our help in the end.” Sunset gave her daughter a pat on the back. “I’m proud of you, Sushi. And I’m sure your dad is too. I haven’t told him all the details, but I’m sure he is. This was a long and hard journey, but you did it. You saved the world. If only I could’ve been there to see it all.”
“Yeah, I’m sure we could’ve used your resetting ability.” Summer squeezed her mother’s arm. “You could’ve frozen her in time like you did to that principal all those years ago.”
“It was epic.” Jojo gave her a thumbs up and a smirk. “She shot the Nugget Person into space! I doubt she’ll ever return from something like that.”
“You’ll have to tell me all about it.” Sunset pinched Summer’s cheek and chuckled. “Quite the thrilling adventure, hmm?”
“Quite bizarre, is more like it.” Summer leaned against her mother. “Man, where do we even start? On the plane, we were already attacked by Weather Alternate…”
And as Summer and her friends recounted their adventures to their parents, she couldn’t help but feel like they had grown more as friends along this journey. She had never really spent time with Fuchsia until they left Canterlot and she had learned so much more about her true self and her real dedication to her friends. Besides her, they had also met up with Sweetie Belle, Gipsy Dance and Bushido Spirit whom she had begun to care about as well.
Gipsy… She gave her life to make sure they could take down the Nugget People. Her sacrifice would be remembered for years to come and Summer would forever cherish her selfless deed that kept her best friend alive to beat Souyul.
She didn’t have to worry about Sweetie Belle. With the resources she had and all the friends she’d made along the way, she was probably safe in whichever hospital she and Apple Bloom were in, getting the best medical care anyone could afford.
As for Bushido, Summer had never thought she would find someone she would have feelings for on an adventure to save the world, but life had mysterious powers to make anything possible. Perhaps in time, they could certainly become more than friends.
And then there was the complicated circumstance with Dolfy Horner. They had started their adventure, trying to thwart his group from reawakening the Nugget People and she only had disdain for someone like that. But he had since realized the folly of his ways and vowed to change. She didn’t know whether to trust him or not, but in her opinion, he seemed genuine in wanting to help the human race, pureblood or not. Perhaps Weather Alternate was going to be a very different group of people once they had settled everything with Berlin.
Their adventure to Berlin had been a bizarre one, but Summer realized she would rather have come on this journey than stay back in Canterlot. She would remember every moment spent here for as long as she lived. All in memory of Gipsy.
“We haven’t had anything for a whole day.” Jojo rubbed his belly. “Let’s go eat, huh?”
“I could use some food. I hear German sausages are the best in the world.” Jostle Joyride flexed an arm.
“Ugh, I just want to go home…” Fuchsia tilted her head up and groaned.
“Hold your horses, Fuchsia.” Prism slapped her on the back. “We haven’t got to really enjoy Germany since we got here. I think it’s time to take in the sights before heading back.”
“Fuch my life…” The pink girl sighed. “I can’t believe I managed to survive this whole fuchstorm.”
“Fuchsia, language.” Pinkie wagged a finger in her face.
“Yeah, and that’s not even the right word to match with ‘storm’,” Prism added.
Summer and the others joined each other in laughter as she wrapped an arm around her mother’s waist. It was good to be back amongst family and friends.
Family. Friendship. These were what they fought for, and without the power of friendship, then they were no better than the Nugget People. Even though they wanted to help the human race and be worshipped by them, they never had the one thing that would’ve made them the best rulers and that was friendship. Perhaps if they had developed bonds with the humans that served them, things would’ve turned out differently for the world.
She knew it more than ever now. There was nothing stronger than friendship and the willingness to lay one’s life down for one’s friends. If they remembered this, then nothing would ever stand in their way, not a Nugget Person, not aliens, not anything.
Feeling so much more sure of herself than she had been when she had first set out on her journey, Summer closed her eyes and let the streetlamp’s rays fall onto her face. She knew that this was an adventure that she would never forget and it was a story her children were going to hear all too often. The Battle of Berlin would be remembered in years to come, but only they would know what really went down.
And that would be their little secret.
Summer hugged her mother tighter and closed her eyes, content.