Canterlot
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Discord. "I mean, there's no chance that I'll screw up and leave you brain-damaged or anything, but—"
"Gee, thanks for putting that idea in her head, Discord," groaned Rainbow Dash. Discord glared at her.
"Now, now, every creature," said Twilight, using her magic to push them apart, "there's no need to bicker. And yes, Discord, I'm sure. I need you to remove the memory of Opaline's name from my brain. If I remember who she is, I won't ever make her an alicorn, and Sunny's future will cease to exist, leaving who knows what in its place."
"But doesn't that mean that we'll have to let Opaline do all those horrible things you saw in her memory?" asked Fluttershy.
"Well, the five of you won't. But it's my responsibility to make sure that the loop is completed. Don't get me wrong, I hate the idea of letting Opaline divide ponies, but if we don't, our adventure in the future will never happen, and...I don't know what it could do to time. Opaline was far from the first apprentice my future self took, so at least we have a few centuries before then."
Discord shivered. "I never thought any of the villains we faced would be worse than Tirek," he muttered, "but from what you've told me, this Opaline takes the cake."
"Don't do it now, though," said Twilight. "We still have to finish the spell on the Time Twirler. Just...after I take the throne, okay? And please don't remove any memories of Sunny and her friends. I can't do without those."
"Alright, I'll do my best," said Discord. "It'll be hard, but not impossible, with my magic."
"Thanks, Discord," said Fluttershy, hugging her friend.
The six mares turned around and trotted out of the throne room. Once they were gone, Discord reached into his ear and pulled out a note, upon which was written some words:
My Ultimate Plan to Boost Twilight's Confidence
Step 1. Disguise myself as Grogar
Step 2. Recruit the remaining villains
Step 3.
With a grimace, Discord crumpled up the list, then snapped his fingers, opening a dimensional portal to a world composed entirely of lava behind him. He tossed the paper inside.`
"How's that quilt coming, girls?" asked Twilight, as she ran another magical scan over the original Time Twirler. She, Star Swirl, and Starlight had just finished casting the spell on it that would allow it to tear open the time portal hundreds of years from now.
"Fabulously!" said Rarity, with all of her usual flamboyance. "I must say, we are lucky Sunny decided to give you that photo. Otherwise, I may have had trouble remembering what she and the others looked like!"
Rarity, assisted by Fluttershy, was currently sewing the blanket Sunny and her friends had found in pieces in the future. Twilight had already cast an anti-deterioration spell on it, ensuring it would survive until it was found.
"Do you think we'll have to find those specific places where they found the pieces?" asked Pinkie. "I mean, according to Izzy, they looked like they hadn't been touched in centuries."
"Hopefully, not," said Twilight. "I'm planning to keep it in my possession while I rule, and we'll go from there." She levitated up the Time Twirler. "You're sure the spell will work as soon as it comes into contact with a pony's hoof?"
"Twilight, you've scanned it, what, twelve times now?" asked Starlight. "We're absolutely sure. Just toss that sucker into the ocean."
Twilight smiled. "It's kinda fun, getting to set up all these things for Sunny and the others, ages before they're even born," she said with a laugh. Her smile dropped a little. "I just hope that, wherever they are now, they're alright. Especially Misty."
"I feel bad for her," said Rainbow. "Opaline lied to her and abused her for her entire life, then tried to kill her as soon as she outlived her usefulness. What kind of pony does that?!"
"Opaline, I guess. What a meanie!" said Pinkie.
"Misty's tougher than she looks," insisted Applejack. "Plus she's got Sunny and the others to hold her up. She'll survive, and live happily."
"I hope you're right," said Twilight. "You all want to come with me?" The other six mares, plus Spike and Starlight, nodded. "Then let's go."
With a quick teleportation, Twilight brought everyone down to the beach, just outside Manehattan. With alicorn magic, plus a little boost from Starlight, it only took a second. Twilight took a few steps towards the drifting waves, levitating up the Time Twirler.
"Are you certain about this?" asked Rarity. "Couldn't we just bury it in the sand where Maretime Bay will be?"
"Somepony else might dig it up," said Twilight. "We need those three fillies to find it at the exact time." Looking down at the water, she sighed, and with a swerve of her horn, tossed it into the water. The Time Twirler bobbed for a few seconds, before sinking below the churning ocean.
"So...did it work?" asked Spike.
Twilight telekinetically opened her saddlebags. She produced the photo Sunny had given her, safely encased in a frame. "I think it has. I guess those things they gave us are all we'll have to remember them by." A smile slowly graced her features. "But maybe they'll be enough."
Crystal Brighthouse
Sunny remained on her knees, staring into the prisbeam that surrounded the Unity Crystals. A rattling noise signaled the elevator rising up, revealing her five best friends (and Sparky), who trotted into the room with concern on their faces.
"Sunny, you've been up here for hours," said Zipp. "Aren't you hungry by now? Or bored?"
"Sorta," admitted Sunny. "I was just thinking about...stuff."
"About Twilight and the others?" asked Hitch. Sunny nodded. "Me too. It was a lot of fun to meet them. Sure, fighting Opaline wasn't so great, but I do miss them."
"Yeah," replied Sunny. "I know Twilight talked about how our friendship would endure across time itself, but I just wish...I could see her again." She pulled her copy of Twilight's Friendship Journal out of the corner. "I've already read it cover to cover."
"No surprises there!" said Izzy. She frowned. "If only Pinkie and I had been able to throw a cross-temporal party before they left." A tear began to gather at the corner of her eye.
"I wish I'd gotten to know them better," said Misty, sadly. "They did a lot for me in a short amount of time."
Sunny opened her mouth to continue, but a bright flash of light began to emit from her Cutie Mark, cutting her off. She looked down, discovering her mark creating an energy tether to the combined Unity Crystals. The marks of the other five ponies began reacting as well, causing the crystals to glow with a mixture of orange, pink, lilac, blue, yellow, and white. They pulsed brightly.
"What's going on?" asked Pipp.
"It looks like when we first uncovered the message from Twilight!" said Zipp, immediately whipping out her phone to record it. "But it's different because Misty's here now!"
In the center of the crystals, a white dot appeared, growing bigger with each passing second. The entire Crystal Brighthouse began to vibrate with magical energy, causing the six ponies to nearly fall on their faces in the process. Soon enough, the white ball was big enough to eclipse the crystals from view entirely. All of a sudden, it shot upwards, phasing through the roof of the Brighthouse without causing any damage, rising higher and higher into the sky until it burst like a firecracker, leaving a massive sphere of multi-colored dots. The explosive roar was so great, everypony had to clamp their hooves over their ears, except Hitch, who covered Sparky's.
"What the heck was that?!" exclaimed Izzy. "Since when were the Unity Crystals firework dispensers?!"
"I...I don't know!" replied Sunny. "Twilight never mentioned anything like that! What could she have—"
This time, the interruption took the form of a sound from outside the Crystal Brighthouse. The noise was a loud "Fwwwwump!" like the beating of a massive pair of wings. This was followed by a heavy thump that seemed to shake all of Maretime Bay for about a second. Hitch nearly fell onto Sparky from the impact. Everypony began searching to find the source of the mysterious sound. As it turned out, they didn't have to look far, because the transparent glass of the Brighthouse allowed them to see what looked like an endless expanse of purple.
Sunny activated her alicorn form, flying down and out the front door of the Brighthouse, with her friends on her tail. Standing on the beach beneath the cliff that the Brighthouse rested on was an absolutely gargantuan dragon, with purple scales, green spines, and a pair of folded up wings. It didn't take a genius to deduce his identity.
"SPIKE!" exclaimed Sunny, taking off with a flap of her golden wings. She flew up to the drake's nose and tried to hug it, though her legs weren't long enough.
"Hey, Sunny," replied Spike, his voice having grown so much deeper since their last encounter. He waved to the five shocked ponies standing in front of the Brighthouse entrance. "Hello, everypony. Nice to see you all again."
"Spike?! You're still alive?!" shouted Zipp. "That's...how old are you?!"
Spike shrugged. "I stopped counting after a while," he admitted. "By the way, how long has it been since Opaline's defeat?"
"Just one day," replied Hitch, who looked perhaps the most flabbergasted of them all.
"Oh, good. So you activated the signal just in time. Sorry for the wait. I would've been here sooner, but I didn't remember meeting my future self."
Sunny's eyes lit up as her brain put it all together. "So Twilight put that in so you'd know when to come see us again!" she exclaimed. "That's great! I had no idea you were still around!"
"Who do you think put Sparky's egg on the beach?" replied Spike. The fully-grown dragon looked down at the tiny Sparky sitting on Hitch's back, who babbled happily. "There's also something else you should know."
"What? What is it?!" asked Sunny, excitedly flapping her wings.
"Well, as current Dragon Lord, I'm obligated to offer the claw of friendship to ponies, considering they've reunited again," said Spike. "Plus, there are plenty of other creatures who might be interested in resuming diplomatic relations with Equestria. How does that sound?"
Sunny beamed, and her joy was matched by all of her friends. "It sounds like we've got a lot of work to do," she replied.