//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: The Never-Ending Ending // by 5u0myn0n4 //------------------------------// At the of Opaline's castle, inside of the throne room, Sunny's friends had arrived, in a destructive fashion. Quite literally. After having crashed the Marestream into the side of the tower, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, Hitch with Sparky, stepped out of Marestream, and opposed the wicked alicorn. Misty however stayed behind in the Marestream. On the throne sat Opaline. She wore a large black cloak, and a metal mask covering half her face. Besides her throne, was Sunny. She laid on the ground and had her face against the floor. "Give back Sunny this instant!" Izzy exclaimed. "Well, well. You ponies sure took your sweet time getting here." Opaline said. "Yoo hoo! Oh, Sunny, your friends are here to see you!" But Sunny did not put her head up. She kept her head down. "Sunny! Wake up! We've got to save Equestria!" Izzy shouted. Opaline looked past the ponies opposing her, and saw Misty hiding inside the Marestream. "Misty!" Opaline said. "AHH!" Misty shirked and hid back inside the car. "Your timing is impeccable, ponies. You are here mere minutes before my ultimate spell finishes the setup phase. You wasted your time coming all this way. Your friend Sunny doesn't even want to see you, and my unstoppable spell is nearly ready!" Opaline said. "And um, what exactly does this ultimate spell do?" Hitch asked. "Well, since you ponies won't live to see the fruits of my labor, I may as well tell you. Inside that tree is a tome. For the past erm... eight and a half days or so, I usually round it up to nine, Cozy Glow's feather has been enchanted, and has been writing out the long journey of a pony from Equestria long ago." Opaline explained. "The story of Twilight Sparkle?" Zipp asked. "Sort of. With some tweaks. Rather than a boring tale about Twi... her, I envision an ancient Equestria with me at the center of everything." Opaline explained. "And when that feather pens in the final dot, and the story is completed, my spell will make that world a reality, by erasing yours!" "Doesn't that seem a little... extreme?" Hitch asked. "Yeah." Sparky added. "Well now that we know what you're doing, we're going to stop your spell, and save Sunny. She, and we, are going to end your evil doing for good!" Zipp exclaimed. "I see. So tell me, ponies. What is it exactly that you're fighting for anyway?" Opaline asked. "To stop meanies like you from gobbling up magic and using it for horrible reasons." Izzy said. "You want to save this world? This horrific dystopian future?" Opaline asked. "The what now?" Pipp asked. "Look at yourselves. You're still holding that... cell... phone in your hooves. Technology and pollution have had a negative impact on Equestria. This is the world Twilight Sparkle created. Equestria was under her rule, and it was her who ordered for sealing the magic away from everypony." Opaline said. "Look what happened in that time. Your tribes spent generations fighting each other, and finding other means to advance society." Everypony looked at each other, and began a moment of self reflection. What exactly was this society they've developed really about? "See why magic is good? It brought all of you back together. Pegasi standing hooves held with earthponies and unicorns. I haven't seen a sight since Twilight's reign. Why would Twilight take all the magic away?" Opaline added. "So you think magic is good? Then why'd you destroy our crystals and take it away again?" Zipp asked. "While magic is good, and all, lest not forget who the most powerful beings in Equestria are, and who is most deserving of all the magic." Opaline explained. "I am a mighty alicorn. The most powerful of beings. It is only right that I get to have the largest reserve of magic to myself. And I did. But once Twilight took my magic, put it in the crystals, I was left as powerless as all the rest of you used to be. But then Sunny released the magic for everypony to have, myself included. Pegasi once again flew through the skies. Unicorn magic returned. And earthponies became magic for the first time in Equestrian history. Even so, it only restored a fraction of my power. Because I am a fire alicorn. And ever since my power was taken, my embers fizzled out. It takes more than magic returning to restore my power. That is why I hired MISTY to kidnap your stupid little dragon! But since she failed to do that, I set my sights on the real prize. If I could have the very same magic that once belonged to Twinkle Shine, I would be unstoppable! No extinguishable dragon fire needed! So I came up with the brilliant plan to release Cozy Glow from stone, obtain one of her feathers. An authentic pegasus feather from Twilight's era was exactly what I needed to kick off the spell." "How could your kind and understanding Princess allow for a filly to remain locked in stone for generations?!" "And when my spell is done, a new better world will emerge on the other side. Where I join the ranks among the great alicorns and rule New Old Equestria!" Opaline said. "Definitely a very extreme plan, destroying everything you don't like." Hitch said. "Instead of destroying everything you don't like, why not try to improve what's already there?" Izzy asked. "I tried that. But you ponies were stubborn. Sunny here refused to cooperate and fully utilize her alicorn powers to join me." Opaline said. "Based on what you say, you fillies are a lost cause to my plan. So starting over is the best course of action." Zipp looked at the doorway leading to the library. It was oozing with a purple magic aura. She then saw Sunny being held captive. "Guys, don't let her distract you. We need to focus. We need to stop her, and the spell. We need to free Sunny, and then team up and clean up the place." Zipp said. "Never mind the fact she's like super duper powered up." Pipp whispered. "We went over this. We have a plan. Ready, Iz?" Zipp asked. Izzy tapped her saddlebags to make sure she had the important things with her. Opaline yawned. She felt no danger from any of Sunny's friends. "I think I've rambled on enough. "You think you can take me on? I have the full magic that once belonged to Twilight Sparkle. I needn't any dragon fire, or little lantern. I am more powerful than any alicorn has ever been! Do you still wish to challenge me?!" Sunny's intrepid friends stood strong, and undeterred. "Very well. If you'd rather you'd prefer to go down fighting, I'll give you a fight!" Opaline said. Izzy, Zipp, Hitch, Pipp, were poised for battle. They were armed with their respective tools. Zipp with her visor on, Pipp with her newly made hammer, Izzy with her crafts bag, and Hitch with Sparky. Finally they all sprung into action. Zipp flew upward, while Pipp circled around to the right. Hitch put his hoof to the ground, and grew out a large vine. Opaline wasn't sure how these ponies were still using abilities that required magic, but she did not think much of it yet. Opaline activated her inner magic, and gripped Hitch's vine attack. She then twisted it around and pushed it back, knocking Hitch and Sparky back. Zipp flew at Opaline at great speeds. She flew at Opaline with her hind leg out for a kick, but Opaline put up a barrier. Zipp crashed into the barrier, and pushed against it as hard as she could. "You're the one I've feared the most, Zipp. And even you are no match for me now." Opaline said. Opaline thrusted her magic and pushed Zipp back. But behind her, Pipp leaped up with her rocket propelled hammer, and took a swing at Opaline, but Opaline again saw her coming and grabbed her with her magic. Opaline then flung Pipp at Zipp, and the two sisters went tumbling over. "Meddling pegasus sisters!" Opaline said. "You ponies are mere pests compared to me! I have the full power of Twilight Sparkle coursing through my veins!" Opaline exclaimed. "We'll see about that!" Izzy exclaimed. Izzy pulled out the lantern from her saddle bag, and used her horn to light up the lantern. "Magic prisbeam lantern powers, go!" Izzy exclaimed. "Foolish pony, thinking that your feeble lantern has any chance against-" The lantern shot out a rainbow beam, and impacted Opaline in the eye. *AAHHH!* Izzy's rainbow shot hit Opaline square in the eye, and broke her mask. "Got her!" Izzy said. "Huh?" Misty peeked outside the tram car, and saw that Opaline was hit. "Uh oh..." Misty said. Opaline covered her eye in pain. She opened her good eye. Sunny's friends stood and regained their footing, and watched Opaline suffering from the pain. "No. Stop it. Cease it with all the pain! Ugh! AAAHHH!!!" Opaline cried. Opaline removed her hoof from her face, revealing her strange eye. Her left eye was larger than her other eye, and was a deeper purple. She glared at everypony with her strange eye. "So perhaps you ponies are a threat after all." she said. "Very well, I'll just have to finish you off!" Opaline flapped her wings and hovered in the air. She then zipped up, and came rushing down. "Izzy look out!" Pipp cried. *BOOM* Opaline came crashing to the ground with tremendous force right in front of Izzy. "The lantern! So that's the source of your magic!" Opaline said. "How foolish of me to be so blind as to forget the existence of your lantern. It's clearly dangerous, and must be destroyed once and for all!" "Back away from Iz!" Zipp exclaimed. Zipp flew forward and kicked Opaline back. Opaline growled at Zipp, and put a tight grip on her with her powerful magic. But things were even worse than they seemed. Zipp dropped her visor, and started to feel funny from the hoof, crawling on upwards. "What's happening? I feel strange." Zipp said. *gasp* "Zipp you're-" Pipp said, but was too horrified to finish her sentence. Zipp looked at her hooves and witnessed what was happening. She couldn't move them any more, or her legs, because she was being turned to stone by Opaline. "Woah! Oh no. Not cool! This feels..." Zipp started. "Zipp!" everypony exclaimed. Zipp could only watch, and feel the sensation in her body disappear more and more, until finally, she was entirely turned to stone by Opaline. Opaline carelessly plopped the Zipp statue down. "There. Finally out of my way, you meddlesome detective you." Opaline said. "Oh my hoofness! Zipp!" Pipp exclaimed. "Now for the rest of you." Opaline said. "As if! You're gonna pay for doing that to my sister!!" Pipp exclaimed. Pipp swung her big hammer at Opaline. Opaline charged her horn with a powerful magic. Opaline fired her beam of magic at Pipp. Hitch slid on a vine and pushed Pipp out of the way. "Thanks for the save, Hitch." Pipp said. "No time for thanks. Come on. She's showing signs of fatigue. We got this! Izzy! Now!" Hitch exclaimed. Izzy nodded, and went in for her plan. Izzy dived forward, and slid forward, and landed by Sunny's side. "Come on, Sunny! Alicorn it up! And whup her flank!" Izzy exclaimed. But Sunny was not enthused. She was in no mood to alicorn it up. "I can't." Sunny said. "Come on, Sunny! You have to help us!" Izzy said. "Do what? Use magic to solve our problems? Magic is what got us into this mess in the first place..." Sunny said. "How could you say that, Sunny?" Izzy asked. "Look, Izzy. Everything seemed bright and cheery when we united pony kind, but look at the mess it's created now..." Sunny said. "Sunny, how could you say that?" Izzy asked. "Look at what the magic has caused. Opaline stole magic from Princess Flurry Heart. She's stolen the magic of Twilight Sparkle. And even before her, Lord Tirek stole magic from everypony in Equestria. Cozy Glow nearly banished all the magic, and sent shockwaves through Equestria. It doesn't matter when or where, as long as there's magic... there will be somepony who wants all of it, and will do whatever it takes to get it, and do terrible things with it!" Sunny said. "Sunny..." Izzy said. Pipp and Hitch continued to fight against Opaline, but they were overwhelmed by her immense magical power, and it wasn't long before the two of them were turned to stone as well. Opaline stomped and began to approach Izzy and Sunny. But suddenly, Sparky leaped in front of Opaline. Sparky stood against Opaline, and breathed a huge powerful plume of fire at Opaline. Sparky's dragon fire intercepted Opaline's power magic, and even managed to hold it back. *Ugh*! Opaline grunted. Sparky sassed and said something to Opaline in his hard to understand baby dragon talk. "Cursed dragon fire! How ironic that the thing I wanted most is now being used against me!" Opaline exclaimed. "Come on, Sparky! Light it up up up!" Izzy shouted. Opaline grabbed Sparky with her magic. Sparky struggled and flailed, but Opaline kept a right magical grip on the baby dragon. Sparky then felt himself start to turn to stone. "Oh, the cruelty. What kind of wretched alicorn would turn a baby dragon to stone? Pah. Consider it mercy. You won't feel a thing once the big tear begins." Opaline said. Opaline had finished turning Sparky to stone, and carelessly dropped his statue onto the ground. Izzy gasped, and tried one last time to motivate Sunny. "Sunny, you can't let the actions of... a few bad cookies ruin magic for you. Think about the good it's brought. All the lives that have been made better. Look at how much happier everypony is now that they live together." Izzy said. "How much better our lives have been, thanks to magic. Nay, it isn't just magic, it's about our friendship. Sunny, what makes our magic strong is our friendship. See how the lantern still glows, even without the Unity Crystals? That's all us!" Izzy said. Sunny looked at the bright light of the lantern, and it almost inspired her. "Please, Sunny. I don't want to lose my best friend..." Izzy said. "I'm sorry, Izzy. There is no magic of friendship..." Sunny said. *sob* "I'd give anything to have the Sunny Starscout I knew back. The Sunny Starscout who braved the three corners of Equestria to bring back the magic, because it's what her father taught her to believe in." Izzy said. "The Sunny who wrote a letter to the sky, saying I had friends in Maretime Bay. I found your note, and came to Maretime Bay, because I believed in what you wrote." Izzy's hooves started to feel funny. Opaline had began turning Izzy to stone. "Please, Sunny. Even if I'm turned to stone... *sob* I just want to see the glow of our friendship... one last time...." "Izzy... I..." Izzy's face gave one more fleeting smile, as Opaline finished turning Izzy to stone. Izzy's statue plopped onto the ground, and laid motionless, as did the rest of Sunny's stone friends. *phew* "Got the last one. For a second I was worried these ponies were actually going to do something." Opaline said. "But unsurprisingly, they failed to put up a challenge." Opaline picked up the prisbeam lantern. "So the ponies were able to leech off of the rainbow magic, and use magic against me. Interesting strategy. Failed execution." Opaline dropped the lantern onto the ground, and stomped on the lantern, shattering it. With it, the rainbow light inside disappeared. "There. The last bit of magic that isn't mine is now gone. Now we just wait. In mere minutes the spell will be complete and... Opaline went on rambling, but Sunny had tuned her out. Misty peeked her head out of the Marestream. Sunny looked at Misty, which made Misty hide herself again. Sunny then noticed that Izzy's other saddlebag was still full. Suddenly, something came rolling out from the bag. It was some sort of package wrapped by a piece of paper. Opaline was still rambling, paying little mind to Sunny, so Sunny reached for it, and pulled it towards herself. Sunny unfurled the paper, and was amazed with what she saw. It was the three Unity Crystal pieces, fully intact. She couldn't believe it. She saw Opaline destroy the crystals earlier. Sunny also noticed that the paper Izzy used to wrap them was a drawing drawn by Izzy. It was of Sunny and her mane 5 friends and Sparky. It says "Your Maretime Bay friends miss you." Seeing this nearly broke Sunny into tears. She felt something inside of her that had been missing for the past nine days. Hope. "First the crystals, now your lantern. Every last source of your magic is done and dust... Sunny? What have you got there?" Opaline asked. Opaline looked over at Sunny and saw that she was holding the Unity Crystals. The same Unity Crystals she thought she destroyed. Sunny stood up, and held the crystals behind her. "Sunny, hand me those crystals. You don't know what you're doing." Opaline said. But Sunny didn't back down. Sunny's eyes began to glow, with a shine of rainbows. Bright magic surrounded her, and formed her alicorn wings and horn. "Ah, magnificent! You're an alicorn, Sunny! Well it's about time." Opaline said. But Sunny didn't reply. She stared at Opaline angrily, and lit up her horn. "Uh... Sunny. What are you doing?" Opaline asked. Sunny was filled with a newfound sense of confidence to stand up against Opaline. Sunny stared at Opaline with anger, charged her magic at the other alicorn, and started inching forward at Opaline. Opaline backed away slowly from Sunny. "Sunny, wait! We can talk about this! I'm still willing to make this about us! Call it a dualology? We can rule New Old Equestria together! We can-AAAHHH!!" Sunny expelled magic from her horn and blasted Opaline with a powerful magic blast. Sunny completely blew Opaline out of the tower with one powerful blast. Sunny breathed heavily after expelling such powerful magic. She then looked at her poor stone friends. "Izzy... Hitch, Zipp, Pipp... Sparky..." Sunny said. Sunny looked at all of her friends. The ones who had been turned to stone by Opaline. Misty came walking out of the Marestream and walked up to Sunny. “She’s gone, isn’t she. She’s finally gone.” Misty said. Sunny hung her head. Misty had a tough time reading what her firm expression meant. “Sunny, I am so sorry for all of this. I never meant for any of this to happen. I just-" Misty said. “It's fine, Misty. You were unaware of the full extent of what Opaline was willing to do, I know. I understand.” Sunny said. “Most of all, I’m sorry about your friends.” Misty said, tearing up. “Our friends, Misty." Sunny said. "They're your friends too." Sunny hugged Misty. "Well, if Opaline managed to unfreeze Cozy Glow, maybe you can do the same thing." Misty said. "But how? What kind of spell do I use?" Sunny asked. "They're your friends. You should be able to just feel it." Misty said. "Okay. I'll give it a try." Sunny said. Sunny put her horn up to Izzy’s horn, and glowed with all her alicorn might. Then suddenly, and magically, Izzy started to glow. And so did Hitch, Pipp, Zipp, and Sparky. Sunny's alicorn magic was reversing the stone, and her friends began to thaw out. thawed out. Finally, Sunny's friends were their normal selves again. Everypony regained consciousness rather slowly, but soon they did. Izzy put her head up, and saw Sunny’s alicorn form. "Sunny!" Izzy exclaimed. Izzy leaped up and hugged Sunny very tightly. "You did it! You alicorned it up! You did it, I LOVE you, Sunny!" Izzy exclaimed. "I love you too, Izzy. I love all of you." Sunny said. The rest of Sunny’s friends stood up too. "We all love you, Sunny." Pipp said. “We never doubted you could save us for a moment.” Zipp said. “And we never stopped trying to save you. Even going so far as to crash the Marestream into the castle.” Hitch said. Sparky nodded and agreed with Hitch. *giggles* "I seriously can't believe you crashed the Marestream into the tower to rescue me." Sunny said, laughing. “We’d do anything for you, Sunny!” Izzy said. “And I’d do the same for… I’m sorry. I'm sorry it took so long for me to stand up to Opaline. I shouldn’t have given up like that.” Sunny said. “You’re fine. I get it. The get going gets tough sometimes.” Izzy said. "I'm just happy that you were able to see the light of our friendship again." Sunny and friends all hugged in a big group hug. Misty watched everypony hugging. “Come on, Misty.” Sunny said. “Me?” Misty asked. “Yeah, you. You’re our friend too.” Sunny said. “O-okay. Thanks, you guys.” Misty said. Misty inched herself forward, when from the corner of her eye, she saw something catch her eye. "Sunny, look out!" Misty cried. Misty leaped in front of Sunny and friends. Opaline had crawled up the tower and fired a beam of magic at Sunny and friends, but Misty jumped in front of the beam, and took Opaline's blast for them. “Misty!” everypony exclaimed. "Nopony messes with my friends!" Sunny shouted. "You consider Misty to be your friend?" Opaline asked. "Yes! And I'm not going to sit around and let you pick on my friends any more!" Sunny exclaimed. "Calm down, Sunny. I'm game. I'm game. If it's an alicorn fight you want, then it's an alicorn fight you'll get!" Opaline said. "You're on!" Sunny said, standing confidently. "And we'll help out!" Izzy said. Sunny put out her wing, blocking her friends. "No! I can handle her." Sunny said. "But Sunny. What about-" Zipp started. *cough* *cough* They heard Misty coughing for their attention. "Don't forget about the spell you guys!" Misty said. Sunny nodded, affirming that this is what she had in mind. "Misty's right." Zipp said. "Sunny can handle Opaline. We need to stop that spell before who knows what happens." Everyone nodded in agreement. They all knew what each of them had to do.