But if day can turn to night!
And the darkness turn to light!
“Hold it! No-ling is allowed to feed on the prisoners until further notice. I don’t care what proof you might have that you were allowed to, it’s a new order since some of the purple freak’s toys broke out, apparently with the help of a traitor. So for now, buzz off!” The leader of the six guards protecting the barracks was the most abrasive changeling Starlight had met so far. Which was good, since if he’d been nice like the first sentry she would have felt worse for what they were about to do.
Starlight froze three of them in a crystal, Perfect zapped a fourth with her sleeping spell, and Fluttershy leapt forth to stab the leader in the chest. Starlight averted her gaze, not entirely comfortable with the lengths that her team had to go to. Unfortunately the last one managed to get one shot off before Inky took him down. It went sailing straight toward Sandstorm, who barely managed to twist out of the way.
Starlight took a deep breath and Inky faced everypony. “Ok, now let’s clean this mess up before-”
BOOM!
They all turned back, seeing the beautiful firework display caused by the lone shot.
“Change of plans; everypony inside, now!” Starlight called out, pulling open the doors and dashing inside. Once they were all inside, Pinkie quickly nailed some boards over the door to keep the changelings outside.
Dropping the illusion, Starlight trotted to the area where the cocooned ponies were being held, the others close behind. She levitated Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash over to herself, with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie joining her. While the others got to work freeing every other captive in the building, Starlight released the three bearers.
Applejack came out swinging, and Starlight was glad that they were all three standing several paces back. Rainbow fell to the ground, before quickly shaking herself off and standing up. Rarity fell out of the cocoon and landed gracefully on her hooves.
“Ow, what happened?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“It looks like a rescue, although I would wager that the war is hardly over,” said Rarity. “Do you have an extraction lined up, or have things already fallen apart?”
“We sorta have a plan, but it’s not to leave. We’re gonna use the Elements of Harmony and make all the meanie changelings run away!” Pinkie answered. “Quick, see if you can wake up the rocks of destiny!” Pinkie pulled the three dormant Elements out of her mane, even though Starlight was certain they were still in the basement back home.
“And how’re we supposed to wake up a bunch a rocks?” Applejack asked.
Pinkie hoofed them over to a rather confused Rarity. “Well, Rarity’s the element of Generosity, so maybe she should share them.”
“Pinkie, I don’t think that’s quite how they work,” Fluttershy admonished.
“Fluttershy!?” Rainbow shouted. “Is that really you?”
Fluttershy nodded and smiled. “Yes Rainbow. It’s good to see you again.”
Rainbow looked down. “I’m sorry that you had to come here.”
“What?”
“Well, I never wanted you to end up in the thick of everything. You were always trying to be nice to everypony, and I never wanted you to have to get involved in this mess.” She laughed softly. “Guess I failed at that too.”
Slowly one of the Elements rolled across the floor and bumped into Rainbow’s leg. “Ooh, it looks like that one likes you!” Pinkie pointed out.
“What, no! Shoo, go find somepony better.” Rainbow tried to shove the ball away, only for it to bounce off a wall and roll back, coming to a stop in front of her.
“Rainbow, I know you tried,” Fluttershy said softly. “But nopony’s perfect, and the war is everywhere in Equestria.”
“Then I should have stopped it!” Rainbow shouted back. “Whatever it took, to keep my friend from having to face this nightmare.” The orb started hovering and glowing red.
“It’s not about success. It’s about your determination to stand up for your friends, no matter what,” Starlight observed. “And whether you think you’re worthy or not, you are the bearer of Loyalty.”
“Well, I don’t see any way to demonstrate my generosity beyond what I’ve already done,” Rarity said. “I already threw everything I had into this war, and anypony would fight to help a group including themselves, it’s just common sense, really.” A second orb hovered over to before Rarity, this one glowing a pale blue, nearly white. “Apparently I don’t have to.”
Everypony looked to Applejack. “Aw shucks, I ain’t got the tiniest sliver of an idea what’s goin’ on! One day I’m tendin’ the crops, then the bugs went and got us all, and now I’m apparently one a three ‘chosen heroes’, and we gotta save the world by bein’ loyal and generous and stuff? Plus I see a changeling over there helping break folks outta cocoons, so I reckon I don’t know anything right now.” The final Element rose before her, emanating a soft orange glow. “I guess that’s enough?”
The three Elements all began to glow brighter, hiding the transformation into their awakened forms.
“That’s great, but we’re still missing the last one,” Driver pointed out.
“Well, who else do we need?” Rainbow called. “If you tell me where they are, I can find them and bring them back faster than you can say Wonderbolts’ Academy.” She smirked as she lifted off and began hovering halfway up the room.
“Well, it isn’t finding them that’s the hard part,” Inky began. “The real problem is that she’s working for the enemy.”
“Dear, do you mean to say that the final pony you need to work these ‘Elements of Harmony’, which you still have not adequately explained, is Twilight Sparkle?” Rarity asked.
“I know, things aren’t going like they’re supposed to,” Starlight admitted. “I’m trying really hard to fix things without a lot of ponies dying, and I know it’s a long-shot but I really hope that we can find a way to get the Elements to work.”
“Heh. I don’t know who you ponies are, but I can tell this is gonna be awesome,” Rainbow observed. “Whatever long-shot crazy plan you’ve got, count me in!”
“You have infiltrated the changeling’s strongest position in Equestria and freed dozens of ponies. I am confident that together we can find a way to make this work,” Rarity added. “Though I would still like to know what we’re making work, I understand that can wait until we have more time.”
“That’s right; together we’ve got this!” shouted Pinkie, slipping a hoof over Starlight.
Fluttershy nodded. “Together we will reclaim what we have lost. Together we will rise once more.”
Applejack swallowed hard and stared at the ground. “I reckon it’s about time that somepony showed them varmints a thing or two about messing with family.” She nodded. “Whatever we’re gonna do, I’m in.”
Starlight looked at everypony gathered together before her. Many were looking to her for guidance, some were wracking their brains, alone or in groups, for any possible way to make the Elements work without Twilight. Some of these ponies were here because they wanted to make things better, and others were just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. But in the end, they were all here because of her mistakes and hubris. She took a deep breath, and let it out. Together they would find a way to make this better. She didn’t think she could fix her past mistakes all on her own, but together?
Together, they might just make it.
The final Element began to glow, and Starlight stepped before it. As the glow faded she saw that it had not become a necklace, as the others had. Instead, it had become a magenta star, free of any golden frame. Starlight was fairly certain that it was the same shape as the main part of Twilight’s cutie mark.
“Alright, woohoo!” Minuette shouted. “Rainbow laser time!”
“Well, the changelings are almost done breaking down the front door, so why don’t we see what these Elements can do?” suggested Inky.
Starlight trotted into the entryway of the barracks, followed by the others. She fell into a ready stance, Element of magic by her side, and the other bearers formed a line. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash stood to her right, while Rarity and Applejack stood to her left. Sandstorm and Derpy hovered above, while the rest of her new friends and the ponies they had just rescued stood behind them, ready to fight if the Elements didn’t work.
“If I remember right, to use the Elements all you need to do is focus,” began Minuette. “Think about why you need to do this, and about your friends by your side. I don’t know if that’s needed or just how Pinkie does it, but that’s a good place to start.”
They all watched as the doors began to buckle, wooden cross boards cracking down the middle or popping loose from the wall. “Excuse me, but while we are waiting for the changelings to break down the door to get us, do you think you could fill us in on what these ‘Elements’ are going to do?” Rarity asked.
“Make a rainbow laser that fixes stuff.”
“How precisely?”
“I dunno. It’s different each time. Turning ponies to stone, sending them to the moon, turning them not evil, that sort of thing.”
“Alright, I’m just gonna step out for a bit, call me if the Elements don’t work or when you’re done with them,” called Inky as a portal opened nearby.
“What, why?” Starlight asked.
“Because you’re trying to use an unknown quantity to ‘zap’ a bunch of changelings, and I don’t want to spend the next thousand years as a lawn ornament.”
“Don’t worry, you’re not evil, and the Elements only hurt evil things!” Derpy reassured.
“We don’t know if that’s a design feature or just because that’s who they’re pointed at. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you here.” With this Inky stepped into the portal, and after a moment it shut behind her.
Finally the last board gave out and the doors flung open, revealing dozens of changelings standing outside.
“Stand back!” Pinkie shouted at them. “We’re about to rock your world.” She held her bejewled necklace toward the changelings, who had paused to look at them.
“Oh please tell me that was not what I think it was,” asked one changeling in the front row.
“Pretty sure it was,” muttered one of their neighbors.
“We will never break under your lame puns!” the first shouted.
“Yeah, you’ll never erode our will with rock jokes!” a third in the second row agreed.
The other changelings all stared at him. “Really?” asked the first. “You just had to say it?”
“It was just dangling there! Someling had to!”
While the changelings were busy arguing about puns, Starlight was trying desperately to activate the Element of Magic. She tried focusing as Minuette suggested, and it started to glow, but then it stalled out. No matter how hard she focused, all it did was glow. She lifted it higher and she felt a tug on her magic. At first she froze, but it didn’t feel like an attack. It felt more like… somepony was asking her permission to use her magic for a ritual. She decided to trust the Element and just poured as much magic into it as she could, a shapeless wave of pure magic for the Element of Magic to use as it would.
The other five bearers slowly levitated off of the floor, enveloped in the white glow of the elements as they floated close, closing ranks. A rainbow beam shot forth into the swarm of changelings, and then the white glow was all Starlight could see.
If a pegasus were to have flown over the city, they would have bore witness to a truly magnificent scene. Outside the barracks a rainbow appeared, hitting roughly a troop of changelings, but it didn’t stop there. Rather, it split into several rainbows that continued their flight. Each one flew towards other changelings, and when they hit sometimes they would stop and sometimes they would split once more. In under a minute changelings all over Canterlot had been touched by the mysterious rainbow. The whole city went from bustling to a ghost town in one wave.
Rainbow dash groaned, sitting up and rubbing her skull. “Ohh, my head…”
Pinkie rolled over from her back while Applejack sat up as well, looking around at the other bearers. “Everypony okay?”
“I do believe so,” answered Rarity. “But what in Equestria happened to them?” She pointed her hoof at the changelings, most of whom were now brightly colored and lacking their distinctive holed aesthetic.
The changelings hadn’t fared any better from magical rainbow hangovers than the Element bearers, even those who hadn’t been transformed were just now recovering from an unknown time passed out.
“Ugh, I always said that ponies were offensively colorful, but I didn’t think they would actually attack us with a rainbow,” said an angry changeling in the front row. He had red fins and purple eyes and wings. “Alright, form up and let’s show those weaklings what a real attack looks like!” He turned behind him and saw the state of the other changelings. “What!?” He turned back to the barracks. “What did you do to us!” he roared.
“I… I have no idea!” Starlight admitted.
“Well, whatever you did we’ll fix it after we take you out. Soldiers, take your proper forms and get back into formation!”
“Wait!” a voice called out from over the space between them. Everypony and everyling looked up to see Inky in changeling form, but wearing her iconic vest. “You don’t have to fight! I’m certain that if you step back and try to work something out with the ponies then we can come to an agreement!”
“Oh yeah?” sneered the lead changeling, Starlight thought that it was probably Pharynx. “And why would we want to settle for that when we can just take all of their love?”
“Because you’re losing,” Inky answered. “That you lost the queen was bad enough, but by now the pony princesses have been released. In a matter of months you’ll be forced back into hiding at best.”
“Then we’ll take our prisoners back to the hive, where nopony could hope to stand against us. We will rebuild and-” he whipped around to the green changeling that had just cleared her throat. “What is it?” he growled.
“Well, it appears that along with the change of colors we are no longer hungry. We don’t have to fight anymore.”
“So what, you want to stop fighting as soon as your bellies are full?”
“Well, that was what we were fighting for,” the green changeling answered.
“And what about dominating the ponies? If we let them recover they’ll retaliate.”
“Well, she did just offer to make peace-”
“Never!” shouted Pharynx. “Tymbal, report for misconduct, the rest of you, form up!”
The three other changelings in the group that hadn’t transformed did as ordered, but most of them just stayed where they were. “Yeah, most of us don’t really want to fight,” said one.
Pharynx looked from his three supporters to the dozens of ponies arrayed against them. He snarled and flew off, taking his supporters with him.
“Well, I reckon that didn’t go too bad,” Applejack said, breathing a sigh of relief.
After a few hours of confusion and chaos, the changelings who had been transformed all -basically unanimously- decided that since they didn’t have to feed on ponies anymore -and their current queen wasn’t around to force them into it- they would cease their war on the ponies of Equestria.
The ponies, however, were not so easily convinced to bury the hatchet. Cadence in particular led the newly formed Anti-Changeling Holdouts of Equestria, or ACHE, a group lobbying for the banishment of hive citizens from Equestria entirely. There were also many ponies who were willing to accept changelings in Equestria, but demanded the return of Canterlot to pony hooves. Just about all of the nobility were in one or the other of these two camps, but a few, such as Fancy Pants, had joined with Celestia in a bid to work out a peaceful exchange in which the Changelings would keep Canterlot and in return they would return all the ponies still held captive there.
It took several weeks, but eventually Celestia and her supporters managed to find a set of compromises and promises that satisfied both the citizenry of Equestria and the Changelings, led by the ex-infiltration instructor Tymbal. Canterlot was to be the new Hive of Equestria’s capital, if a country of but one city could call it their capital. Meanwhile Celestia declared that Manehattan would be made into the new capital of Equestria.
And so began a new era in Equestria, Land of the Daybringer.
And as the seasons returned, into the darkness shone light for the first time in ages. And the darkness was displeased…