Nightmare Moon laughed wickedly as her guards approached and surrounded the three heroes. The evil alicorn leaps over and lands in front of them. "Tell me how you came across this magic to travel through time." she demanded. While Twilight and Spike had scared looks on their faces, Jacob stood his ground, determined. He wasn't afraid of Nightmare.
"The Princess asked you a question," said a guard, taking off her helmet, revealing the guard is Rainbow Dash with a buzzcut. "And unless you want to end up in the dungeon, you'll tell her what she wants to know."
"And have another villain running around disrupting the flow of history?" Jacob said, "I don't think so."
"So, silence is your answer." Nightmare said with disappointment, "Very well. To the dungeon with them!" The guards reached out to grab the trio.
"Too slow." Jacob then swung his head and shot all six guards with a single blast from his horn, knocking them out with a sleeping spell. "Ow, my neck's stiff. Dang, it." He then grabbed his neck and rubbed it. That move cracked his neck enough to be painful. Things only got worse as Nightmare Moon shot him with her magic but missed him by several inches. "Um, was that supposed to hit me?" Then more shots zoom past him. He ducks down, expecting to get hit by her magic, but they only strike the floor around him. Nightmare Moon breathes heavily, sweat dripping down her angered face as she's exhausted all her power and not once hit the unicorn.
"What... sorcery... is this?!" She shouted between breaths. "Why can't I hit you?!"
"Wrong pony to ask that question. Ask Twilight."
"I-i don't know either," Twilight said while Spike hid behind her. "I don't know why you can't hit him, but this needs to stop."
"Indeed." Nightmare said, "We shall call a truce for now. I've exhausted my powers trying to fight an imbecile."
"Hey, watch the name-calling," Jacob said as he got up from the floor. "Why would you want to use this time magic?"
"I will use it to ensure the Elements of Harmony are never found. So, my reign lasts forever."
"Yeah, that's a bad idea for several reasons. If you destroyed the Elements in the past, then let Lord Discord be a constant pain in the flank. Every action has its consequences. That's the one lesson we can't hammer in with the villains we mentioned. At least one of them." Nightmare Moon looked at the floor and sighed. She never thought about that. She remembers how Discord was before turning to stone by The Elements of Harmony. "You have no reason to be jealous of your sister. You could've just talked with your subjects all those years ago, showing them the beauty of the night skies and its many stars instead of blaming Celestia. It's a simple sibling situation that has an easy solution." Nightmare Moon looks up at Jacob and cocks her head.
"You speak as though you have experience with having a younger sibling."
"Yes, I do. I have a younger sister. Her name was Carly. Carly Conners. She and I used to fight a lot in preschool, but over time we got along much better and stopped. We were inseparable even before..." Jacob stopped and looked away in emotional pain.
"Before what? Spit it out."
"I'd rather not talk about it. It hurts too much to remember. You'd feel the same if something happened between your parents." Nightmare Moon soon realized what he meant and nodded.
"I see. I shall not pry." Jacob smiled and then twitched his ear. He hears faint, indescribable whispers coming from down the corridor. Twilight and Spike heard them too, but Nightmare Moon couldn't.
"You can hear that, too?" Twilight and Spike nod.
"Hear what? What are you talking about?" Jacob and Twilight trot down the corridor with Spike riding on the latter's back. Nightmare Moon followed behind them, suspicious they were trying to escape. The heroes followed the sounds through the castle until they arrived at a dead end. The whispering continued from the other side of the wall. Jacob put his ear against the wall to confirm this. "What are you doing?"
"There's something behind the wall. Must be a hidden room in there."
"Ridiculous, there is nothing behind that wall. I lived in this castle for years. There hasn't been a child's room for years." Twilight, Jacob, and Spike look at Nightmare in confusion.
"Uh... child's room?" Spike said. Nightmare Moon looks at him, trying to find the words to correct herself. Why would she say that?
"We should find out what's beyond the wall," Jacob said, then started feeling the wall with his hoof and sniffed it. "Huh, that's weird. It's plaster. This wall's a fake."
"What's plaster?" Spike asked.
"Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and molding and casting decorative elements," Twilight explained. "But why would they make a plaster wall that blends in with the castle's corridors?" Jacob looked at the wall and then thought back to a movie he saw, The Spiderwick Chronicles. The dumbwaiter in the house was plastered over to hide the attic. Jacob looked around and took a spear from a set of armor. Twilight takes it from him before he does anything. "Hey, what're you doing?"
"Gonna break the wall."
"That's going give us more trouble than we're already in."
"Indeed." Nightmare Moon said with a menacing glare.
"You have to trust me on this. What is in there might be of use to us. We need all we can to stop those two. Do you want to see our friends again? Do you want to have Nyx safe?" Twilight looks at him, then breaks the plaster wall to reveal a door. Opening the door reveals something surprising. It was a nursery for a baby. The group stepped inside, lighting their horns to help them see inside. They found hoof-made toys and a crib with a moon and stars mobile above it. When Nightmare Moon looked around, she had a sense of familiarity. Like a set of memories unlocked inside her head. "Twilight, who's kid stayed in here?"
"I don't know. Celestia and Luna never had children. The only ones related to them are Prince Blueblood and Cadence." They then saw a little present inside the crib. It was a tiny one. No bigger than four inches in width and two inches in depth. The whispering they'd been hearing was coming from the present. Jacob picks it up and opens it, revealing a copper key with a backward R in the bow. Upon taking the key in his hoof, the whispers silence. "Is that a key?"
"Not like any key I've ever seen. I'm not sure if it'll fit a lock." While the three were inspecting the peculiar key, Nightmare had a constant flow of tears streaming down her face. She wiped them in confusion while these memories kept coming, memories of a stallion and her feelings toward him. She didn't know who this stallion was, but she did. "I'm not sure if this is copper. The metal feels lighter. It must be something else."
"Hey, there's something else in the box," Spike said, taking out a small card from the present. "It says to read the letter you got from Starlight." Jacob's eyes widened in surprise.
"Ok, this is getting freaky." Jacob takes the letter from his saddlebag and opens it, reading it.
Dear Jacob
Too many secrets you were kept from on your journey. You've seen the tragic stories of many slain by Kronus. It's time you learned of the one he didn't. Many years ago. There was a brave and powerful unicorn with powers over the night skies. A Mystic named Night Watch. After banishing Kronus and his armies from Equus, he left the Ruined Realm searching for sanctuary. After many days and nights of travel it found him. A powerful wizard of swirling stars met him and brought him to this castle. Night told the wizard of his homelands and their incredible wonders, like the youth orchids, with their ability to stop the aging process so long as you consume them as tea. During his stay, he met the sisters of night and day, becoming close friends and then something more with the former. After several days of feeling bitter about her sister's praise of the day, she finally met someone who appreciated the night as much as she did. He taught her things from his world while she did the same with him. Despite being from different lands and species, their feelings for each other won't keep them apart. Their love gave way to the bridge between their worlds, the young Prince Nebula. Their lives would be perfect, but after Discord's imprisonment and Sombra's defeat, Kronus returned. It was during the few days following Nightmare Moon's banishment. At the time, there was no Envy. She grew within Luna because Kronus's generals, Sloth and Gluttony, planted black spores inside her mind, corrupting her until she became her dark persona. They went after Night Watch and the baby. Night Watch barely survived a fatal blow, but he lived long enough to give one last gift to his son. Gluttony was about to eat the child, but Celestia arrived in time to stop them. Using the remaining spells and enchantments left behind by Night Watch, she stopped the villains before sending her nephew among the stars. The prince dreamed of life until his eventual return years later, arriving at a time when the world never knew he existed, his mother had forgotten him, his father was dead, and Kronus was on the prowl. At the very same time you came into this Equus. Every moment you spent in Equestria and other worlds was also Nebula's moment. You are Prince Nebula. I know you have many questions about how this is possible, but those will be answered in time. Right now, you have to correct the flow of time. In your hand is my gift to you, the Reali-key. A magic key that allows you to open passages to different dimensions. Use it well.
Sincerely, a dear friend.
There was only silence. Quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Jacob stared at the letter much longer as Twilight and Spike were left in awe about this part of her world's untold history. Emotions within Jacob formed a typhoon; he had no idea what to think of what he's read. The letter was correct, but he doubted who he was meant to be. How could he be Prince Nebula? He remembered his life, the moments he recalls perfectly. His times in high school, vacations to the beach by the gulf, and the other best times of his life. He didn't include the worst ones, but he also remembered those. He tightly closed his eyes while his anger rose to the powerplant-meltdown levels. Then he, Twilight, and Spike heard sobbing. Turning, they see Nightmare Moon break into tears, her physical form crumbling into black smoke. Moments later, only Luna was lying on the floor in a puddle of her tears. "I remember." She said, "I remember everything." She looks up out the window and towards the moon. The silhouette of a mare with a rainbow sheen was on its surface. "What have I done?" Twilight slowly walks to the princess to comfort her.
"It's not your fault, Luna." Twilight said, "It's Kronus. It was always Kronus. He made you do all these horrible things. And he and a unicorn mare are still doing terrible things."
"Night Watch, my son. He took them away from me."
"No, he didn't. Nebula's alive. He's standing right-"
"No." Jacob interrupted bluntly, "Don't say it."
"But, Jacob... It's true. There's no denying that. You are Prince Nebula."
"Like heck I am!" He exploded and stormed off, then ran towards the castle gardens. The guards were about to chase.
"No." Luna said, "Leave him be."
"Are you sure, my queen?" Rainbow asked.
"I'll... go speak with him." Luna stands up from the floor, whipping away the tears as best she could before use a glamor spell to make herself look like her evil form.
Outside, Jacob was having a fit. He was seen uprooting and tossing plants and decorative statues. The guards witnessed this but were too scared to stop him. "I'm not Nebula!" He roared, "I'm Jacob Connors! I'm just a nobody from America! I'm insignificant!" He bucks against a stone wall, putting several cracks into it. "Why me!? Why am I being put through this to get my sister back?! This is bull crap!" Jacob then stomps on the ground then collapses, breaking into tears while curling into a ball and choking on his words. "Mom. Mom. I wish you were here. What do I do?" While he lies on the ground, Luna, in disguise, arrives to dismiss the guards and approaches the unicorn. Looking around, she sees how much of the gardens were thrashed and destroyed. Jacob's emotions were a devastating hurricane that ruined her garden. But right now, the teenager was in a crisis, torn apart by two lives, one of which he didn't have before. He can't be some destined prince to save the multiverse if he remembers being a human. Whoever it was who left him the key and the note had some nerve to drop this asteroid and flood him with so many emotions.
Enough was enough. Jacob is done with this adventure and wants to sleep it away. He would sleep if it weren't for someone sitting next to him. He opens his eyes and looks to see Luna. "Guess you got over your tears fast."
"I-I came to comfort you," Luna said, trying to find her words, "It's my duty as a mother, yes?"
"You're not my mom." He rolls to face away from her.
"No, but you need one. I can feel your heart is in pain. You're unsure about who you're meant to be."
"Understatement of the age. I know who I'm meant to be. I'm a teenager in a small town in America, trying to get through life and surviving whatever, it throws at me." Luna bit her lip to try and think of the right thing to say. She looks up at the moon, at the silhouette of her sister.
"You know, I believe Nebula was as well." Jacob's ear twitched then he looked back at the princess.
"Pardon?"
"Think back through your memories, the times you laughed, the times you cried, times you were comforted by loved ones. He experienced them, too. You are Prince Nebula, and he is you."
"But how can I be two characters?"
"It was in the letter you received. Nebula dreamed up Jacob's life and lived it."
"But why me? I'm nobody. I'm a nerd."
"Something tells me that's not true. Nebula needed a family who'd love him. He needed a family to raise him to be good. If it were anyone else, I would never see him again."
"Out of infinite possibilities. I was chosen, or rather Jacob, for a mission of great importance. My emotions were leading me to save my sister, Carly Conners. Are they mine? Are my memories mine?"
"If you believe they are, then yes. Are you sure you want this Carly to be kept a prisoner of this evil?" Jacob looks towards the stars before standing up and rubbing his eyes. He stretches and shakes his head.
"Like heck, I will. I'm surprised at how well I've recovered from this." Luna also stands up, retaking her Nightmare Moon form as she does.
"Then show me where this time magic is. I'll escort you and the purple alicorn there."
After a while of trotting through the Everfree forest, blasting away Timberwolves into splinters, they were getting close. Jacob and Twilight explained the situation to Nightmare Moon, who became interested. They eventually found the map table and cleared away any of the magic tree dogs that protected it. "So, this is the source of this time magic?"
"Yeah, that's it." Jacob said as he prepared himself, "Please don't do anything stupid with it. We still have a mission to do."
"It's tempting, but I want to. I'd use it to go back in time and warn myself of the coming evil."
"Then that would drastically change everything," Twilight said.
"Bingo," Jacob chimed, "The events that happened then are set in stone. I think The Doctor said stuff like that is a "fixed point in time." What happens is supposed to happen. So, let's not do that." Luna sighs then backs away and looks at Jacob.
"Listen, Jacob." She said, "Night Watch once said he had to run from his home and millions had to suffer. I don't think you want others to suffer like they did. Be the hero everyone needs." Jacob nods to her before standing on the map table.
"Trust me, Princess, I won't let you down. I won't let Carly down." Twilight then takes out the spell scroll and casts it, sending them back to the past.
Once back, Twilight instantly encases Starlight and Lust in a block of ice. "Too slow, morons!" Starlight uses her magic to break free.
“Not slow enough.” Starlight said before flying off to stop Rainbow Dash. The Alicorn then flies after Starlight, while Jacob stays behind to fight Lust.
“Let's leave the chicks to their fight.” Jacob said, “What say you and me have some fun?”
“With pleasure.” Lust said and unleashes a torrent of whips at the unicorn around the Flight Camp. Getting an idea, he uses his new gift and slips through a door, taunting the villain to follow him.
And so, the chase begins. Passing through doors, crossing into different worlds, Lust chased after Jacob with numerous whips with sharp blades that slices though almost anything. Jacob slips on the wet floor of some neon mall entrance hall. He catches a glimpse of a golden bear statue holding a microphone before he dodges a whip from Lust. “Hold still!” The alarms blared as several robots that looked like a chicken, wolf, and alligator grabbed Lust and tried ripping him apart.
“Oh, heck!” Jacob said, running towards the maintenance hall door. “Is this some kind of Five Nights at Freddy's fan game?!” He quickly uses the key again right as Lust breaks the robots to pieces, then goes after Jacob. The next world led to some town covered in purplish blue vines and zombies roaming around.
“Oh, come on!! Not more zombies!” Jacob had to be quick to avoid the zombies, while Lust just sliced his way through the horde of undead. He passes by a series of lanterns that were keeping the zombies away and a pizza place with monsters of all kinds and a treehouse with 4 teenagers. They noticed the chaos from down the street and had prepared an ambush of acid calzones? Jacob was confused about this world but kept going. Heading through the next door, through the pizza place, he arrives in a medieval anime world. Jacob smiles and nods from this setting as he runs. He nearly runs into someone with short, pink hair, yellow eyes, and glasses. The stranger was unfazed by the scene he saw, so he zapped Lust, who ran after, with a pink bolt of magic.
“Prince… Nebula?” He said after tilting his head. Meanwhile, Jacob runs into a town square, but Lust cuts off every means of escape for him. Enchanted barriers blocked off all roads, alleys, and doors, leaving the two of them in this convenient arena.
"No where to go now." Lust said, dragging his whips behind him. "No more running, Nebula. Time to fight."
Looking around, Jacob sighs, then takes out his sword.
“I don't have time to deal with you, I have got to get back to Twilight.”
“I'll send you to her in a casket.” Lust then flings a large, sharp disk at the hero, but Jacob avoids it with the misty dodge, turning into a plume of mist right before it hits him. Jacob reforms quickly as Lust quickly clashes with him. Jacob blocks and avoids Lust's bladed whips, leaving deep cuts in almost anything in the square. As they battled, neither of them noticed the man from earlier was watching the fight go down as several other people arrived to witness it. A woman with black hair and a red pig tattoo on her neck, a short, blonde-haired boy, a man in red clothes, a flying boy with a green pillow, and a woman in orange clothes and pigtails hairstyle.
“There they are.” Said the man, “There's Prince Nebula and a poor impersonator of me.”
“I don't know, Gowther.” Said the kid, “That guy looks nothing like you. Are you sure you read his mind, right?”
“Of course, I did. He claims he's the Sin of Lust.”
“More likely a physical embodiment of the sin.” The woman with the pig tattoo said. “The power this one's giving off is unlike ours. We should lend the boy our aid. Seeing as this guy's fighting tooth and nail trying to kill him.”
“So, what?” the man in red said. “Are going to help him or not?”
“Let's just wait and see what happens first.” The 6 individuals watched from the roofs as the forces of good and evil clashed, reducing the square to rubble. Jacob breathed heavily from trying to fight back, but he got slashed in his chest, leaving a large wound. Jacob was flung back into a wall with Lust smiling with a big and wide grin.
“And thus perished… the young prince.” He said, as he unravels some of his straps to become snakes, ready to strike down Jacob, but as the snakes attack, they get pulled back by some unseen force. Lust looks back to see the man in red was somehow pulling his straps without even touching them.
“Okay, bud. Time for a time-out, so I can take his place.” The man said with a toothy grin.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Ban, The Fox Sin of Greed. And you are?”
“You're death!” Lust then changes his snakes to darts that then shoot into Bon, impaling him. Several more followed after, but the man just laughs from that. This made Lust look at him in confusion. "What? You're still alive?"
"Of course, I am. I'm immortal. Can't kill me that easily."
"Would that include being a puddle?" The snakes turn into blender blades, reducing the human into a chunky red puddle on the ground then gets overwhelmed by a storm of daggers coming from the air, sent by the kid with the pillow... Where is his pillow?
"Chastifold, Fifth Configuration, Increase!" The daggers did their job well until the straps whip them away at the same speed, they're coming then form a tendril to smack the kid away. The other warriors came and used their own specific attacks. The woman with the boar tattoo used magical spells and enchantments to attack, the blondie boy uses a simple sword but he is able to deflect any magic attacks Lust uses, Ban somehow recovered from being liquified and started using his powers again, this time pulling hard enough that the leather breaks apart, hurting Lust. Gowther manifests bows made of magical energy from his arm and shoots arrows with them. Lust avoided them with ease, but didn't see the last fighter, the girl with pigtails, who was in actuality a giant when literally she punches the man into the ground in her true height. Jacob struggled getting up from the rubble, dusting off the debris from his outfit and looking to see the kid offering a hand.
"Need a lift?" Said the blonde kid. Jacob grabbed the kid's hand and he was brought up to his feet. "Man, you were lucky Gowther saw you running by."
"Thanks for the help." Jacob said as the large wound on his chest heals thanks to his magic. "I was actually trying to lure him away while a friend of mine deals with... someone else. Might I ask who you are? All of you?"
"I'm Meliodas. The Dragon Sin of Wrath. We're The Seven Deadly Sins." Jacob shifts his eyes to six of the seven sins he's standing with. "Are you okay?"
"Uh... not exactly. You see, I'm dealing with sins of our own. You just dealt with one."
"So, he's from another dimension?" The woman with the boar tattoo said.
"Yeah, exactly. Who are you?"
"I'm the Boar Sin, Merlin." Jacob remained silent for several seconds before he slapped his forehead and laughed.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Jacob laughed for quite a while because of the fact the woman was the legendary wizard, Merlin. The Teacher of King Arthur Pendragon. This was the one variant he wasn't expecting.
"Is there's something funny?"
"You bet there is. You're the wizard, Merlin... and you're a woman. I saw other versions of you that was a wise old man with a long white beard... or was that just Disney?" They heard Lust laughing as he emerged from the crater. The pain he felt seemed to bring him joy. He stretches his limbs as new straps form around his limbs. "Oh, geez."
"We'll keep him busy." Meliodas said. "You just get back to your friend."
"After what I saw, I believe you. I just need a door. An actual one."
"Try the one in the back." Gowther pointed out. There was a door at the back of the building. Lust charges at the group and fights them, giving Jacob time to escape. "We'll see him again, correct?"
"We might." Merlin said with a smirk.
Jacob makes it back to Equestria, returning to his equine form, but finds that it wasn't the flight camp. Instead, it was a small town with a decorative fountain in the middle. "Okay, where am I?"
"Welcome to Sire's Hollow." said a unicorn mare from behind him, making Jacob yelp in surprise.
"Geez, you scared me."
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to. It's not every day that we get visitors in our little community."
"Lucky me. Now, actually, I'm sort of lost. I'm looking for the Jr. Speedster's Flight Camp? Mind pointing the way for me?"
"Why do you want to go there? That place is reserved for Pegasi."
"I'm looking for a friend is all."
"Who is your friend?"
"Spoilers."
"Oh, Spoilers? That's quite an interesting name." Jacob was about to correct the mare but they heard the voice of a young colt heading their way. 
"Mom! Mom!" The colt said as he runs towards them. He skids to a stop and shows his flank. On it was a cutie mark of a sun. The mare smiles with joy and hugs her son while Jacob looks at the colt curiously. He recognizes the kid, it was Sunburst. Starlight's childhood friend from long ago. He told Twilight and the others about this after finding documents about Starlight in Teresa's archives. Other ponies, including Sunburst's family, gathered around to celebrate his cutie mark while a little unicorn filly stood at the front door of her house, sad. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she ran inside to cry. Feeling bad... Jacob decided to go and comfort the filly, leaving Sunburst's celebration. As he was about to enter the house to talk with the young Starlight, he heard the adult one nearby, around the corner of the house.
"BECAUSE OF HIS CUTIE MARK!" she shouted, sounding like she was arguing with Twilight and Spike. As she ranted about her motives, Jacob looked at the door of the house then at the corner several times. He smirks then goes inside the house. "He got his and I didn't. He moved on and I didn't. I stayed here and never made another friend because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away, too."
"So, in other words, you're just a stunted mare who refused to let go of the past and keep moving forward." Starlight quickly turns around to see Jacob standing at the corner. Twilight and Spike smiled as they were glad to see him.
"Not everypony is lucky enough to their cutie mark as the same time as their friends!" She prepares the time spell, but Jacob smacks her horn to stop her.
"That's enough out of you, brat. Could you give me a moment to check on Twi and Spike... like a 'real' friend?" He leans over to look at the two. "Hey, guys. You two, okay?"
"We're fine, yes." Twilight said, "What about you?"
"I'm good. I've met a bunch of guys who's keeping Lust busy."
"You didn't defeat him?"
"No, I tried to figure him out but he really kept me on my toes. He'll come later." He then looks back to Starlight. "We're only going to give you one chance to stop this. Your past is the reason Kronus will win. Has he been reminding you about what happened in your past?"
"No, he hasn't." Starlight stated, "Not once has he reminded me. I remind myself of this day and it keeps me going. I'll not stop until I get what I want!"
"Then... maybe showing you your future might get you to change your mind."
"That won't work! I saw the future! It doesn't matter to me! I don't care what'll happen to Equestria so long as I get my village back! No cutie marks will ever take my friends away again!" Jacob stood silent after Starlight shouted. Then he smirked and spoke.
"You didn't hear me. I said 'your' future. Not Equestria's." The two mares and Dragon looked at Jacob in confusion. Twilight and Spike then noticed somepony standing behind the stallion then gasped as they realized who it was. Starlight was still perplexed... until Jacob stepped aside, revealing Starlight's younger self. "So, Little Glimmer, what do you think of this as your future?" Adult Starlight stood in complete shock as she saw her younger self standing in front of her while said younger self stood at her future self in confusion.
"You hate cutie marks?" She spoke. Starlight was at her limit now. She turns to face Jacob, charging up her horn, ready to atomize him to nothing. Then her kid self jumped in the way in hopes of stopping her... and it did. The two ponies looked at each other. The younger looked scared while the adult breathed heavily with rage... before extinguishing her horn and collapsing to the ground in tears... crying out of guilt and regret. She looks up to her young self and they hug tightly.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." They continued to hug for several moments, letting Adult Starlight cry her eyes out. The guilt of her actions and regrets of her past have finally caught up with her because of Jacob's ace in the hole, her past self. Twilight took the moment to go up and put a hoof on Starlight's shoulder.
"Starlight," She said, "you're right. We don't know what you went through, but we do know what you've been doing was wrong. We've seen where this leads. Only what I've shown you, but we both know one we haven't seen. Kronus's victory. Things don't turn out well in Equestria without my friends."
"And other people who stop bad guys." Jacob added. "Without them, there would be bleak futures. Twilight and her friends are just as important as them."
"What's so special about your friends? How can a group of ponies that're so different from each other be so important?" Starlight said, recovering from her crying.
"The differences between me and my friends are the very things that make our friendship strong." Twilight said sitting next to her.
"Yeah, friendship binds us together." Jacob said, "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for that."
"I thought Sunburst and I were the same, but we turned out different.... and it tore our friendship apart." Starlight said as she and her young self stopped hugging.
"Well, if that's the case, you should try again."
"Exactly," Twilight said, "Start again and make new friends. And if something happens that you can't control that changes thing, work through it together. That's what friendship is. And it's not just my friendships that are important to Equestria. Everypony's are. When yours ended, it led us here. But just imagine all the others that are out there waiting for you if you just give them a chance." Starlight then turns to look at the princess, her eyes red from her tears.
"How do I know they won't all end the same way?" Starlight said.
"That's up to you, sweet heart, to make sure they don't." Jacob said. Starlight looks at two ponies and dragon... then hugs them both. Hugging very tightly. They then hugged her in return, even the little filly hugged as well. They only stopped when they heard something shatter. Starlight breaks free from the hug and holds out the Sin Pendent of Pride, finding it reduced to metal dust. The cloak she wore began to unravel into thread, then the thread vaporized to smoke. "Holy heck, you're no longer a sin."
"I'm not?" She looks at this scene in confusion.
"Well, that's what I'm assuming. Seeing as that pendant is now broken."
"We can figure this out later. I just need to..." Starlight then lights her horn and taps her young self's head, making the filly pass out. "Don't want to cause any paradoxes because of you."
"Oof, right." Jacob rubs the back of his head. Starlight then teleports her past self into her bedroom.
"Memory wiping of her seeing and meeting us and a sleep spell making her think it was just a dream."
"Good call."
"Good idea." Twilight added. Suddenly a rift opens nearby and Lust emerges from it, this time he had changed. No longer was he a pony, not even a human. He emerged long and gigantic as a redwood tree, his body made up from millions of lengthy straps all made up to form a black serpent with blue and silver eyes. The creature roars and scoops them up into another rift, bringing them back to the flight camp. Spitting them out, he begins to circle the four.
"Traitorous." Lust said with a hushed tone, "How could we have not seen this? How could you turn your back from greatness?"
"What greatness? I was blinded by my wish to regain my village and taking my revenge that I didn't care what I'd do or what would happen or cared who'd I hurt. All because my friend, Sunburst got his Cutie Mark before I did. I nearly hurt myself to take my anger out on Jacob!"
"Dirty move, Prince."
"I needed her to stop so she could listen for once." Jacob said, readying his weapon. "Got the pride out of her ears. A rat once said 'a path from inner turmoil begins with a friendly ear.' We needed her to listen so we could talk."
"BAH! She wasn't suffering when we recruited her. We kept our word that we'd help her if she did... exactly what we wanted her to do."
"And what did you have her do?"
"Suppress the rebels."
"They wanted me to take their cutie marks away." Starlight said, "But... that did more than take away their talents.... It took away what made them unique from one another. They all look like shop window dummies." Jacob, Twilight, and Spike were at a loss for words. They never knew how removing a Mystic's mark would do that.
"It was the gift of Kronus. He improves what is already there. You'll become more than what you already are."
"But there's a cost... you'll lose yourself in all that power, becoming a monster. Just like you, Lust!"
"Monster? Me? Nonsense. I'm more than I was before. This time, I won't let you slip back to your so-called safe haven." Lust then strikes at them but they all jumped out of the way. This doesn't turn out so great as Spike drops his backpack with the time scroll inside. Lust swoops by and swallows the spell then shoots a spell beam from his mouth and into the sky, making an explosion and numerous cracks in the blue vastness. The ponies around them stopped in their places, but didn't look up, they were frozen in place. "Witness the cost of your betrayal. The end of everything. And the sad thing is, they won't see it coming."
"No..." Starlight sounded horrified. "How can you do that? How could you?"
"I find joy in the suffering of others." The snake then slithers after the ponies and dragon. The unicorns and alicorn used magic blasts to defend themselves, but those attacks didn't even do anything, not leaving a scratch. Not even ranged weapons can hurt him nor his sword. He was getting damaged earlier, how can Lust withstand the attacks? The ponies and dragon held for as long as they could to fight Lust, but it's a matter of time to call the final results of the fight. They went all over the airstrip to avoid the giant snake... and Jacob was starting to get irritated that he had to fight another giant snake. Starlight did her best to avoid the attacks to see where to find a weak spot. "Run all you like. you can't escape the end now." The cracks in the sky worsened, revealing an orchestra of colors beyond their world with barely visible shapes coming through. Eventually, Lust managed to grab the heroes in a tight coil and gets tighter. "Show it to me. Show me how you suffer." Jacob, Starlight, Twilight, and Spike struggled and gasped for air as the coiled gripped tighter and tighter, nearly on the verge of broken bones. Then came the whistling noise of an incoming object, something was falling from the sky. Lust looked up and saw... a large galleon ship with a Sun figurehead, no wait. It looks more like a lion figurehead in the shape of a sun. The ship crashed right on top of a cloud building with some of the crew flying off from the impact. A man with a long nose, a guy with a straw hat, and a small racoon dog with antlers. Lust shrugged off and continued to constrict the Equestrians. Suddenly he gets a kick to the head by a blonde-haired man with a cigarette. The kick was so strong, it caused Lust to lose his grip and his straps to go undone until he was a pile on the ground. The man lights a cigarette once the snake was knocked out.
"Are you okay?" The guy said, helping Jacob up. Jacob coughs a few times as he recovers from the squeeze.
"Yes..., Thank you, sir." Twilight said with slight pain in her voice. Their rescuer smiles when he realizes it was a female.
"Oh, a simple thank you won't be enough, why not a-" The man then gets smacked into a building.
"Why not a what?" Jacob said with an amusing smile. "You didn't finish, Sanji!" Starlight runs up to Lust who was currently wrapping himself again.
"Lust, please stop this." Starlight pleaded, "You were the only one who guided with a kind heart. If I can see my mistakes, you can, too."
"I only guided you when you were one of us, traitor." Lust hissed as he reforms into the snake and strikes down at Starlight. She thankfully managed to avoid the attack and escape. Jacob takes out the Maverick assault rifle to attack as Sanji and the other strangers come to their aid using various methods of fighting. Their captain, a guy in a straw hat, was made of rubber and could stretch his limbs, the tangerine-haired girl has a staff with detachable parts that allow her to create weaponized weather, a brunette woman can sprout numerous hands from anywhere in the world, a long-nosed man uses an oversized slingshot from a distance, the green haired man uses three swords to fight with, two in each hand and one in his mouth, the racoon dog, reindeer actually, shifts into a burly human shape and various forms giving him different styles of fighting, a skeleton with an afro uses a special cane sword to cut through Lust's straps, a man with blue hair and a speedo fights with his bare hands, hitting like steel because he was a cyborg, as evident with his hand dethatching by the wrist to act like a cannon. With all these warriors, Lust was out matched hands down. He had to do something to defend himself. When there were seven in total, they couldn't be harmed by others, only those equal to them. He summons several portals to call in reinforcements from the temple, leaving him, Jacob, and Starlight. He stands with what remains of his straps, exposing his pale skin underneath. "You think you've won, Nebula! It's not over! Even when I'm gone, there are still others left!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Jacob said as he does some stretches. "But I've got an army with me. I'm not alone. We'll take you all down like a Christmas tree in January." Lust's remaining straps form a large tendril around his right arm and then charges to fight Jacob one on one. During the fight, Lust didn't notice that his amulet was missing. Lust swings his leather tendril around to try and hit Jacob. But Jacob was pretty light on his feet as he works to avoid. "Hey, to be honest, I thought you would be a woman. Never in my life you'd just be a dude." Jacob avoided Lust's fast attacks while he spoke. "I mean, really? I'm not into dudes. Just an Aphrodite of a woman to be honest."
"Need you make these quips while we fight!?" He launches and slams the ground, missing Jacob as he dodges again.
"Well, yeah. I just thought I would talk you out of this. Seeing Starlight changed for the better." Lust then backhands the unicorn, only to miss again. Jacob is doing well at dodging.
"I don't understand how!? How did you do it!?"
"All we did was show her the future... I mean her past self. I mean." Then Jacob gets hit and sent flying into a cloudbank. "Okay, that's it!" He charges in with his sword to start slashing at Lust who tried avoiding him. "Besides! It's a better change of fate than accepting your dark one!" They then continued fighting as the battle went onwards. Lust was getting the upper hand as his straps were regrowing and covering any wound Jacob gives the man. Lust then does one strong stab into Jacob's torso, only for Jacob's body to begin showing glowing runes similar to that of Vorton's design. Upon contact, the straps burn to ashes. Lust stumbles back screaming in pain as his straps burned him.
"What is this?! What is this power!?"
"What are you screaming about?" The runes on Jacob vanished as he rushed Lust again, delivering several lethal blows, sending the villain to his knees. Lust breathed heavily as he felt so weak, his straps began to come undone, leaving him exposed. Starlight comes forward, holding his pendant in her magic aura.
"Lust..." She spoke. "Please. I don't want to do this."
"Starlight, don't." Lust said. "We both know how this will end. I've gone too far from my true self to be redeemed. Nothing of who I was remains."
"That can't be true. It can't be."
"Starlight, I'm older than your world. My last self is a forgotten memory, lost to time... something irrelevant in the Dark Dimension. Though I believe our time shall be limited now... knowing how powerful Nebula... Jacob is. So, go ahead." Starlight hesitated, tears streaming from her eyes as her magic crushes the pendant into fine powder. Lust gasped as he felt it then he too turned to a pile of dust. Starlight sobbed and dropped to her knees, but she stopped as the cracks in the sky got worse as more and more items from across the multiverse came raining down. The Daily Planet, an ocean liner called Poseidon, and the Statue of Liberty.... replica from Las Vegas. So many things came from the cracks in the sky.
"I got to fix this." She wiped her eyes. "I got to fix this! This is all my fault!"
"Starlight." Jacob said, "We're gonna fix this."
"All of us." Twilight said trotting up to them with Spike on her back. "You have true friends this time." Starlight looks to the two of them, they gave her confident smiles. She too smiles with joy. "How are we going to fix this?"
"I'm going to need something from Vorton first." Starlight said, "I need some energy to try a form of mending spell." She looks to Jacob who looks back confused.
"What are you looking at me for?" Jacob said as a toon anvil lands right next to him.
"Jacob, please. You gotta trust me on this."
"Okay, but why?"
"Light up your horn." Without question, he confusedly lights up his horn and so did Starlight. She then started streaming magic from his horn to hers in order to manifest the spell. The pain and stress of what this power was is too much for her that it starts burning her horn like a torch. The power burned so badly she couldn't take it. She quickly cast the spell, sending it flying up into the sky, exploding like a firework. Starlight collapses as the cracks ceased to spread and start mending, all the things that came from the cracks started floating back to where they came from. This included the monsters, sending them back to their accursed master. The pirates come by to see Jacob putting Starlight on his back.
"Hey, is she okay?" asked the Straw-hat Captain.
"Yeah, she's just worn out from one spell." Jacob said as the cracks were mended. "Seems this will be our only time talking. It's nice meeting you Luffy."
"It's nice to meet you, too, talking horned horse."
"Jacob Conners, memorize it." He chuckles knowing Luffy won't remember his name.
"Luffy," Nami spoke, "We should get to the ship before it floats away."
"Okay, why?"
"Why else? We might get stranded. Let's go."
"Again, thanks for the aid given our short time." The pirates got to the ship quickly as it started floating back into the cracks in the sky. "Hey, think time will proceed again once that's fixed?"
"I think so, Jacob." Twilight said.
"Then we best find a spot for the race." The three of them then go to look for a good spot to view the Sonic Rainboom. "Hey, any ideas why my magic was needed for the spell?"
"Maybe you have something else in you. We'll figure this out once we're home." They find one lone cloud to observe from. Starlight was weak and awake when they arrived. Twilight noticed this and put a hoof on her shoulder. Once the cracks mend, the time starts back up and the race begins.
"Jacob..." Starlight muttered weakly.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry... I was a fool. They promised I would get my village back if I'd helped them."
"Sounds like a pie crust promise. Easily made and easily broken. What made you think they'll hold up their end of the deal?"
"I don't know. They're just surprisingly convincing."
"Well, now that you are with us, you can make amends by stopping them. You saw what they do to everyone that crosses their path."
"I know. They had me rob Mystics of their talents and marks."
"That sounds... concerning. Let's just wait. You don't want to miss this." Right on time, they all witnessed The Sonic Rainboom. The skies exploded with color as Young Rainbow Dash crosses the finish line, cementing the timeline forever. Then the time portal opens once again and it sends them back to the castle.
Once back, the portal dumps the group and collects the time scroll and destroys it for good. Jacob slowly gets up and looks to see the portal closing for good and then to Starlight who struggled to get up, rubbing her aching horn. "Ooo, that looks painful. Let's get back to Vorton and get someone to look at that. We do have a Doctor after all." Jacob, Twilight, and Spike take Starlight back to Vorton while a shape watches from the windows above them, Natasha waited for the right moment to attack again.
Once back in Vorton, Cecilia provides medical attention to Starlight thanks to what she can remember of her father's lessons. Meanwhile Jacob, Spike, and The Mane 6 talk about what went down in Equestria in The Hub. "I mean, I knew my Rainboom was awesome, but I didn't know all of Equestria depended on it." Rainbow said.
"Or on us." Pinkie commented.
"Same." Jacob said. "You ladies are key elements in the world. Removing that made the Magic of Friendship less powerful."
"My thoughts exactly, Jacob." Twilight said, "Without us, Equestria would be doomed in all sorts of ways. Friendship really does bind us together." Applejack looks to Starlight while she rests.
"I still can't believe y'all traveled through time like that." She spoke.
"Starlight must be pretty powerful." Pinkie added.
"She is." Jacob said, "She somehow used my magic to help mend the barriers of reality. Maybe a popsicle can help clear this up?" Jacob said looking to Frostbite. He sighs and goes up to Jacob.
"You're right." He said, "You... out of every Equestrian here are the only one who can use the incredible power of Mystics... because you are Prince Nebula. The Half-breed of two worlds."
"I had a feeling but what about the thing I said?"
"There's... more to that. Only Element can harm Element."
"Say what now?" Applejack said.
"Element, is the substance we call the material the bricks are made of. Creation in raw form."
"So," Jacob said, "does this mean I have this stuff... thought; my father, Nebula's dad, must've given this stuff when he was just an infant. Maybe that's how I've had it."
"What does it do?" Rainbow asked.
"So far... I think it's giving me an edge on fighting. I'm... actually, feeling something in me. It's different. I feel... I don't know."
"How can you not know?"
"I'm just having difficulty explaining it."
"I think I can." Pacman said walking up. "It's probably like the feeling I get when I eat a power berry. You get a rush of energy through your body, like a sugar rush."
"Yeah, it's something like that. I felt it again while fighting Lust. He couldn't touch me. Evident by his straps turning to ash."
"Seems Kronus and his followers are oriented enough to evil that you are deadly to them." Frost stated. "Element reshapes itself into how the user sees fit."
"We've got a lot to talk about. Right now, we should discuss what to do with Starlight. Punishment is not ideal seeing she killed one friend she found among the villains. Having her makes this group stronger. It took a bit of convincing to have her stop on her own."
"Still, that was a stupid move you did." Twilight said.
"I know, I know, but she did mend the paradox in the end. It's funny how they can mend themselves at time."
"Then if she's as powerful as all that," Applejack said, "We can't just send her on her way. Especially now she's an enemy of Kronus." Jacob and Twilight look at each other, then smile.
"Actually," Twilight spoke, "we have an idea for something."
After a bit of time, Starlight has bandages on her horn and she walks with Cecilia to The Hub. She saw everyone waiting for her and she felt the guilt of her crimes coming in. She took one breath before speaking. "I know there's no excuse for what I did. But I want you all to know that I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair."
"Starlight," Jacob said, "We all think you've been punished enough. You thought you would save Lust, but we have something that's more... merciful actually. Twilight."
"I've been thinking a lot about how badly Equestria faired without just one group of friends." Twilight said, "Because even when one group of friends dies, the results can be disastrous." Starlight sighs.
"I know first hoof how that can be." Starlight said.
"That's why... If you are willing to learn, I can teach you. You have the power to make Equestria an even better place."
"How do I start?"
"It's easy. Just make a friend. And you have a lot of them right here." The other ponies gathered around Starlight to give her a hug. All except Jacob who sits by and watches.
"Hey, it's funny." Pinkie said, "We should do a musical number after this."
"There's no time. We've got several new worlds to go to and find help."