//------------------------------//
// 10. Friendship is Sacrifice 
// Story: The Fate of the Magic 
// by Harrison Sparrow 
//------------------------------//

After a temporary, heart-to-heart reunion with their parents, Sunny and Zack were racing back to Maretime Bay to get the gang back together and save the world.

"How do you know they're gonna be at the Brighthouse?" Zack asked.

"Zipp said they were going home, so they have to be there. I'm sure of it!"

As soon as they went by the 'Welcome to Maretime Bay' sign, they stopped to see in shock, that the tower of the Brighthouse has been destroyed, and the Unity Crystals have been stolen!

"No, no, NO!" Sunny said in worry.

"The crystals!"

They continued racing towards the building until they made it inside. Sunny's friends have been assessing the damage since they saw it first before she did.

"Opaline's stolen the crystals, too, didn't she?" Sunny asked.

Hitch, although still upset about earlier, sighed and nodded. "Yes. She did."

Sunny became more worried. "So, without them... has everypony lost their magic?"

Zack tested himself to see if he can still fly, and he does, leaving everyone surprised. "Wait. Mine's still working."

"But, how is that even possible?" Misty asked. "We thought the magic disappeared everywhere!"

"Beats me to say it, but I'm shocked as you are, Misty."

"Then they must be still active somehow." Sunny said. "That means there's still hope."

"No, there isn't." Zipp said, still feeling hurt. "Opaline has taken everything from us now; Sparky, our cutie marks... all of it."

"And because of that, we can't activate the Marestream." Izzy said. "We can't do anything..."

"We needed you, Sunny, but you betrayed us. It's over." Pipp said in defeat.

"No. No, it is not over." Sunny said, fighting back her tears, as her friends turned away from her. "Listen to me, I know I screwed up, and I know I should've been there for all of you when you needed me. But now, I need you more. With such dangerous power, Opaline is going to take over all of Equestria soon if we don't do something right now. I know it feels hopeless, but I still have my powers. We don't have a choice here. The only way we can stop her... is together. Not alone. Together."

Even though her friends heard that, they were still not sure about it.

Zack sighed and stepped in for her. "She's right. You guys can hate her all you want when this is over, but if we don't do this,  then there won't be anything left to save. There won't be a tomorrow. So what's it gonna be? I know I'm in on this. So like it or not, you all have to be in, too. For Equestria."

"Please..." Sunny begged softly.

They had to think for a few seconds, but they all gave in and agreed to help out. One by one, they said... "For Equestria."

"Okay. But we need a plan, so what do we have in mind?" Pipp asked.

"We've been keeping Opaline from everypony for too long now, so we have to tell 'em." Sunny said.

"I agree." Zack said. "Hitch, get everyone on high alert."

"What do you mean?"

"Bring them all down to Maretime Bay." He then looked back with a heroic look. "We're going all in."

Sunny was surprised to hear that, but she felt proud.





Back at Opaline's castle, the evil alicorn, lead by the possessed dragons, was taking a caged Sparky into the room where Misty used to sleep in. The Unity Crystals, although still active, were applied onto an armored necklace that Opaline was wearing, which has made her even more powerful.

"Here's where you will stay, little dragon, until I need you for something... business-worthy."

"You can't do this! LET ME GO!!" Sparky shouted, struggling to try and break himself out.

"What?! I don't want to have anything bad happening to you now, would I?"

"You don't care about me! You're just a careless MONSTER! I know you tried to drain all my magic the other day!"

"Ah, you know that? Ha! How am I not surprised!? Well, that's because I needed to empower an important object that is worthy of mine. Nothing more or less, to be exact. And, if you don't mind, I'll need to borrow a little more of your fire later, so I can finally accomplish what I should've done a long time ago!"

Sparky became frightened. "Wh... What are you gonna do!?"

"*giggle* You will see. Soon enough." Opaline said, as she and the other dragons walked out of the room.

"YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS, OPALINE!!" Sparky yelled in anger.

The alicorn faced him and smiled maliciously. "Oh... I already have." She said, as she closed the door and barred it with dark thorns.





Around the land, everyone's phones have brought up a high alert that Hitch sent, saying they all need to head down to Maretime Bay. This put them all in a scare, but nonetheless, they soon rallied up in Mane Street, where Sunny and her friends took centre stage outside the Sheriff Stallion. 

"Alright, everypony listen!" Hitch called out. "We're sorry we had to bring you all down here during this dark time, but Equestria's in danger once again. Somehow, the evil fire alicorn, Opaline Arcana, has returned."

"*gasp* Did he just say 'evil fire alicorn'?!" Jazz asked in shock.

"Wait, so you're saying she was the one responsible for what happened at Glastonpony?!" Posey said, then turned angry. "What about the fact that you ponies knew her all this time, and never told us anything!?"

"Yeah, why did none of youse tell us!?" Sweets asked.

The crowd began exclaiming, talking over each other in anger, as Sunny and the others couldn't call them down. Then, she unleashed her alicorn power to get their attention.

"IT WAS MY IDEA!" She shouted, as the crowd stopped yelling and faced her in shock. "It was my idea to keep Opaline Arcana a secret."

"Sunny?!"

"But, why!?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner!?" Rocky Riff asked.

"Because you would all panic if I did." Sunny answered. "And I wouldn't forgive myself for that. From the moment we brought magic and friendship back to the land, I wanted all of you ponies to be as happy as you could be together, but we were so worried that something bad would happen ever since we first saw Opaline. And now, she's broken out of Twilight Sparkle's invisibubble. And not only has she ruined the Glastonpony Festival, but she's also stolen my friends' cutie marks, the Unity Crystals... and our little dragon, Sparky Sparkeroni. And to make matters even worse, she's planning to take over the entire world for herself." The crowd gasped in a scare. "I know you're all scared right now..."

"Yeah, we're scared and we wanna be prepared!" Toots interrupted with a fright.

"And you're right! But we don't have to live like this. We can stand up together, and take the fight to Opaline and save Equestria! You still have your own magic, and you can use it to defend yourself and fight back! Because as long as we're all together, WE CAN DO ANYTHING!!"

"WHO IS WITH US!?!" Izzy yelled, as she raised her hoof.

After many seconds of silence, the crowd stood up and chanted "TAKE THE FIGHT". Then, Pipp gasped as she saw something coming from afar.

"Look!" She said, as everyone else did the same.

It was Spike and all of the other dragons from the Isle of Scaly! It appeared that Jelly has told them about what happened earlier. They approached from over the sea and landed in the middle of the street, as the ponies got clear of their landings.

"Hey! Thought you guys could use some heavy backup!" Blaize Skysong said, as Sunny and her friends smiled.

"Yeah, we heard what happened, so we thought it'd be right if we help you all out." Tumble said.

"I... I don't believe it!" Sunny said happily.

"Ah, you should believe it, all right!" Jelly said. "And just so you know, I kinda told 'em about the whole incident thing."

"*gasp* Jelly, did you do this?!"

"*laugh* Surprise, surprise!"

"We'll help you ponies take the fight to Opaline." Spike said. "We now know that she was the one who stole our dragon stone. She took everything from me all those moons ago, and I was never the same after that."

"We know, but we've got your back." Blaize said.

"Hold on just a sec, if Opaline is made of fire, how can any of you dragons stop her?" Dahlia asked.

"Good question." Lava smirked. "We'll fight her fire with our own fire!"

"I'm not so sure about that..." Windy doubted.

"Oh! How about some water?" Figgy suggested. "That'll teach her not to mess with ponies like us!"

"Hmm... Water." Sunny said, and she turned to Sprout. "Hey, Sprout!"

"Huh? You talking to me?"

"What do you say we do a little 'emperor' work?" She suggested, as Sprout raised his eyes after hearing that. "You could get your job back."

Sprout looked back at the Canterlogic building and turned to see Phyllis, who nodded with a smile. He then faced Sunny with a smirk. "I thought you would never ask. Everyone follow me!" He ran off as everyone followed suite.

"Sunny, are you sure about this?" Zack asked with worry. "After what he did?"

"Everypony deserves a second chance." Sunny replied with confidence, as Zack smiled.

Inside Canterlogic, the ponies and dragons were building a variety of hi-tech equipment in an attempt to deal with Opaline's fire power, whilst Sunny and the gang drew some attack plans. They tested themselves as Blaize set a line of oil on fire, and the ponies used their water gadgets were they successfully extinguish it. And as soon as everyone finished setting up their gear, they marched out of the building and onto Opaline's.





At Opaline's, the possessed dragons were at the top of the castle, scouting out for any intruders whilst Opaline sends the caged Sparky into a firestorm machine that will transfer his fire into the sky.

"Please! You don't wanna do this!" Sparky begged.

"Why wouldn't I!? You do know this is the only thing that is left for me to take over the land of Equestria! And by the time it is finished, I will show everypony how powerful Opaline Arcana can really be!!" Opaline shouted monstrously, scaring Sparky even more. She chuckled sinisterly as she slightly faced him in a more villainous voice, with her eyes now glowing. "Don't you worry, it won't even hurt a bit."

As she walked away, Sparky looked up at the machine, feeling helpless as it began to power up.

Afar back from the castle, the ponies and dragons are nearing their arrival. Sprout has rebuilt his Sproutacus Maximus as he was in control of it, and Phyllis was in the passenger seat.

"You know when I told you this toy was a little too much the other day?" Phyllis asked, reminding him of the night he attempted to attack the unicorns and Pegasi.

"Yeah, I heard you, Mom. Loud and clear."

"I'm beginning to think that you're now doing something real dangerous again. But this time, it's... really brave, too."

"And daring? This isn't a toy, I know what I'm doing. And you heard Sunny, if we all survive this, it'll be the long-awaited return of Deputy Sprout!"

"Only if we stop Opaline, that is." Phyllis reminded.

Outside, Zack was still inspecting the machine himself, feeling a little concerned as he faced Sunny.

"I'm still surprised that you're letting him do this. You sure you trust him?"

"We need everything we got against Opaline."

"But how will we handle all of this without your friends' magic?"

Sunny sighed as she looked down. "I'm not sure. But I want them back, Zack. I don't want to be alone when this is over." She turned to see her friends behind them. "But without them... where do I belong?"

"Sunny, you'll never be alone. Ever. Like your dad said, they're your family. When they get their magic back, I'm sure they'll forgive you."

"I started all this, Dad." Misty said to Alphabittle, feeling guilty. "I never should've listened to her."

"I know. You were just trying to protect yourself. But this time, we'll show her who owns the land, and get your mark back."

"I just really want Sparky to still be okay when we save him."

"We got this together, Misty." Izzy said, trying to be hopeful.

"Eyes up, everyone! Approaching the castle at 12 o'clock!" Zoom called out from the sky.

"You heard her! Be on your guard!" Zipp said, as they all readied themselves for battle.

"Since when did you start delivering orders, Zipp?" Hitch asked.

"I learnt from the best." Zipp smirked.

From afar, the possessed Stoner sees the army approaching the castle. He alerts the others, who prepare to attack, and flies inside to warn Opaline. As the army moves closer and closer, Sunny stops as she has another vision. It was showing that Opaline has been alerted about their arrival, as she growls in anger.

"*gasp* She knows we're here!" Sunny said.

"PONIES, DRAGONS, GET READY TO ATTACK!" Spike called, as they all aimed their weapons. "Remember, we do this together! No one gets left behind!"

The possessed Tongues of Fire dragons roared from atop the castle, as they began flying down and towards the army.

"It's Tongues of Fire!! THEY'RE POSSESSED!!" Jelly yelled.

"GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!!!" Thunder yelled.

The possessed dragons roared loudly, as they closed in on them.

"EVERYPONY CHAAAAARGE!!!!" Hitch battlecries, as they all engaged in battle! The possessed dragons fired down on them, and the army fired back their water. One of their machines caught fire, but they quickly snuffed it out.

"ADVANCE TO THE CASTLE!! GO, GO, GO!!!" Zack called out, as they all move forward whilst fighting back.

Jelly takes to the skies as she tackles the possessed Flamber. She starts slapping him in the face, trying to get him to snap out of it, but to no avail. "Come on, come on, buddy! SNAP OUT OF IT, WOULD YA?!! WHOA!" They crash down to the ground, and the earth ponies use their magic to trap Flamber with strong vines. They struggle to keep him pinned, but they've been foiled as Reaper flew down and fired on them, which they just evade, but allowed Flamber to break free and continue attacking.

Sprout rapidly fired water out of his machine, but one of the dragons charged at him and began knocking it down. Sprout and Phyllis immediately got out before it fell.

"Now what!?" Phyllis asked.

Sprout thought of something as he brought out the water from the cannons and poured them into their own weapons. "Plan B!" He said, as he threw one one to his mother, who smiled, and they began to engage on foot.

As Sunny was firing back, she turned to see the castle and calls out her friends. "GUYS, LET'S GO!! WE HAVE TO GET TO THE CASTLE NOW!!" She said, alerting them as they advance together in an attempt to stop Opaline.

But the evil alicorn saw this from her monitor, and she lashes out in rage. "NONE OF YOU WILL STOP ME FROM FOILING MY PLANS!!! LET'S SEE IF THIS WILL SLOW YOU DOWN!!!"

She activates the machine, which began draining Sparky's fire and transferring it into the sky. Then, it unleashed a dangerous firestorm, where lightning began to struck down on the battlefield and cause huge blazes of fire. One of them splits Zack from Sunny and her friends, as they were hurled into the ground.

"ZACK!!!" Sunny screamed in a scare.

Zack panted in short breathes as he turned back to see everyone still fighting. He deeply sighed as he faced back at her with confidence, and hovered up in the air. "I'll take care of this! You go save that dragon!"

Sunny, although still worried about him, smiles a bit. "You're so crazy!"

Zack smiled back at her. "I like crazy." He said, as he flew back to help the others out.

"Sunny, let's go!" Izzy said, as they continue to move forward.

But then, lightning struck near them as they quickly took cover next to a big rock. The castle was just nearby, but time is wasting away.

"We're so close, we can't stop now!" Pipp said.

"But the storm's getting worse out here!" Zipp said. 

"What are we gonna do!?" Izzy asked.

"Don't ask me, I don't know!" Hitch said.

"But we can't let Sparky die!" Misty said. "We have to save him before it's too late!"

Sunny had to think hard for a few seconds, and then, she had a plan. "I know what needs to be done." She said, as the others look at her.

"What? What do you have in mind, Sunny?" Hitch asked.

"It's hard to explain, but... there's something I have to tell you guys... and you're not gonna like it. Ever since we brought magic back together, we were exposed to the world once again."

"What are you talking about?" Zipp asked, not understanding.

"There's a reason why Twilight Sparkle had to sacrifice herself to keep everypony safe from danger. She did that ever since Opaline tried to steal magic back in Ancient Equestria. But when we completed our mission, bringing everyone back together in harmony... that was when the darkness would return as well. As did Opaline."

"Wait, Sunny, what are you saying?" Pipp asked.

"I saw her in possession of the Unity Crystals, and she's already become more powerful than ever before. But there's only one way I can save everyone. I have to undo what we did."

"What...?!"

"I have to destroy the crystals." Sunny revealed.

The others gasped in shock by that, and were extremely against it.

"Sunny, no!" Misty said.

"Are you insane?! You can't do that!" Zipp said.

"Why not?"

"Because if you do, the magic will be gone forever and we won't be together anymore!" Izzy feared. "Do you really want to throw away everything that we did?! It's what you and your dad ever wanted your whole lives!"

"I know that. It's what we all wanted, even Zack and his mom. But I wasn't there for you back then, so I have to return the favor."

"No, Sunny, none of that matters now!" Hitch said, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah, we don't care about what happened! We care about you!" Izzy said, and that hit Sunny hard. "We care about each other... as a family." The others nodded to that.

Sunny shedded a tear. "You guys are the bestest friends I could ever have. But right now, there are worse things, so I have to take on Opaline alone." She tried to run off.

"No, Sunny, you can't do this!" Zipp said, stopping her.

"I have to! It's for our own good!" Sunny said, trying to break free.

"No, without our cutie marks, you'll be killed!" Pipp feared with worry, which stunned Sunny, knowing the danger she'll put herself into.

"Sunny... this is all on me." Misty said, as she stepped forward. "I made Opaline a monster in the first place, I put you and our friends in that mess. But I never wanted to since you've been so good to me. We know it's risky, but please. Let us help you stop her! Let us help you save Sparky! Hoof to heart! Right?"

Sunny looked at the others, who were begging whilst on a verge of tears, but then faced Misty with determination. "Sorry, Misty. But this is my mess now... So I have to fix it..." She got out of hiding, unleashed her alicorn form, and turned angry. "...by myself!" Without hesitation, she ran away and flew off towards the castle.

"No! NO!" 

"SUNNY, DON'T DO THIS!!"

"STOP!!"

None of that worked as Sunny completely ignored them. She grinded her teeth, charged her power and fired it to break through the walls, ending up in Opaline's lair.

"OPALINE!!!"

Alerted by that, the evil alicorn comes out of hiding from above and lands with her fire power active. "Well, look who came crawling back... Sunny Starscout. You made a grave mistake bringing your army of friends down here!"

"No, I didn't! Give back my friends' cutie marks and let Sparky go! It's me you want!"

"You?!" Opaline laughed maniacally. "I won't be needing you, nor do I even want you! But if you want your helpless little dragon back, you'll have to go through me. Especially that he's now suffering in a little thing I created!" She revealed the machine to Sunny, showing Sparky losing all his dragon fire as his green skin was fading to grey once again.

Sunny gasped and became really wrathful. "LET HIM GO!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible now. Once I finished draining the last of his fire, I'll start taking everypony else's cutie marks, including yours, and the entire land will soon be mine to rule!"

"YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!!" Sunny growled through her teeth.

"It's already over, Sunny! GIVE UP!"

"NEVER!!!" She shouted, as she sparkled her horn and the two began fighting, flying around the room and blasting their powers at each other.

The others were watching from afar back and got very worried, thinking that Sunny's on her way to being defeated.

"We have to get over there!" Izzy said.

"Wait! How about we get one of the dragons to throw us over!?" Misty thought.

They looked over at the battlefield, as it was getting very tense by the second. Zipp saw Spike nearby, who was too focused on fighting the possessed dragons.

"Wishful thinking!!" She said, and they called out to him.

"HEY, SPIKE!!"

"SPIKE, OVER HERE!!"

Spike heard the calls as he turned to them. "Huh? What is it!?"

"We need to get over to the castle! Can you throw us over there?!"

"Okay! I'm coming!" Spike said, as he flew over and landed right beside them. "Grab onto my leg and hold on!" The ponies tightly grabbed onto his leg. He moved it back... "Go get her, friends!!" ...and swung it forward, successfully throwing them over to the broken walls.

They looked through the fight and saw Sparky suffocating in the machine.

"SPARKY!!" Hitch yelled, as he tried to go save him, but Misty stopped him.

"WAIT! I'll save him, Hitch!" She said, as she brought a rock and ran into the castle.

"MISTY, DON'T!!" Pipp shouted.

As Opaline and Sunny's fight continued to emerge, Misty stayed out of sight and quickly sneaked up to the machine. She looked up, exhaled deeply and climbed up to the top, right where Sparky is.

"SPARKY!"

"M... Misty!" Sparky said, struggling.

"Hold on, buddy, I'm getting you outta here!" She said, as she began breaking the glass with the rock. Small cracks appeared, but she banged it harder and harder and the glass started to break apart.

"Those alicorns tried to take everything from me!!" Opaline shouted. YOU WILL NOT TAKE IT FROM ME THIS TIME!!"

"THAT MAGIC NEVER BELONGED TO YOU!!!" Sunny shouted back, straining.

Opaline then noticed Izzy, Pipp, Zipp and Hitch trying to sneak by. She trapped them in a bubble, which made Sunny enraged, and they fired at each other right at the same moment; with their lazers in the balance. Misty kept banging the glass, as Sparky was collapsing. And after many hard knocks, it completely breaks and she grabbed Sparky out of the machine, saving him, but he's in a poor state. And then, with all the power she has possessed in herself, Opaline unleashed her biggest and most hardest strike on Sunny, which blasts her unconsciously to the ground and strips her cutie mark, transferring it into the villain, making her even more powerful.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" The trapped ponies screamed emotionally.

"SUNNY!!!!" Misty shrieked, who witnessed it after climbing off the machine.

Outside on the battlefield, almost everyone has ran out of water, and are soon trapped by the huge blazes and the possessed dragons. One by one, they steal all their cutie marks, including Zack's. Alphabittle and Haven were trapped themselves and they hugged together, preparing for the worst. The firestorm soon expanded across the land; Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, Bridlewood, literally everywhere, as the residents got into a huge scare.

Feeling victorious, Opaline landed and walked up to the downed Sunny, cackling madly. "Poor little pony! Did you really think you could stop me?!! NOW you see that nopony could ever-"

"STOOOPPP!!!!" Misty yelled as she got in front of the villain whilst cradling Sparky in her hoof, covering the injured Sunny, who slowly opened her eyes and couldn't muster the strength. "Please stop...!" She begged tearfully.

"No... Misty..." Sunny said weakly, groaning.

"SPARKY!!!" Hitch yelled, horrified at seeing the little dragon weak and grey.

"Misty?!! You don't even know what you're doing! GIVE ME BACK THE DRAGON AND GET OUT OF MY WAY, NOW!!" Opaline shouted.

"NO!!" Misty shouted back in anger. "How could you live with this!? HOW COULD YOU HAVE A HEART SO COLD!?!" 

"Misty-"

"I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU!!!"

Opaline was stunned by that a little as she never saw Misty yell at her like that before. "Now you listen to me-" She tried to say.

"I devoted my life to helping you! All this time, you had me believing like I never belonged anywhere because I had no friends and no family!! You had me thinking that you would be my MOTHER!!"

"Your mother?!!" Opaline said in disgust. "You should've known-"

"I ALREADY KNOW!!" Misty continued shouting. "Alphabittle told me everything! He saw you! You never saved me! I was never a lost filly!! YOU FOAL-NAPPED ME AND KILLED MY PARENTS!!" Opaline got shocked by that. "And all I did for you... you were never going to give me a cutie mark, were you!? WERE YOU, OPALINE!?!?"

Opaline didn't say anything for a few seconds, but she then scowled at her. "No, Misty. I wasn't."

The trapped ponies gasped, realizing the truth that Misty was used by Opaline.

"It was true." Zipp said sadly. "She was using her the whole time."

"See?!" Misty said, pointing at her. "You never cared about me! YOU NEVER LOVED ME!!!"

"You thought I cared about a worthless little brat like you?!" Opaline said, as she began yelling back at her. "You thought I actually LOVED YOU?!!"

"DON'T LET HER SCARE YOU, MISTY!!" Izzy shouted.

"How can I ever love you!?" She pointed at the trapped ponies. "How can THEY ever love you, Misty!!? After everything you've done!? You've been nothing but a thorn in my side since the night I found you!! I only kept you with me just so I could use you to get what I want, WHERE I SHOULD'VE GOT RID OF YOU ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!!!"

Having heard that, Misty felt stunned as she lowered her head. "I knew it." She said softly.

"You are nothing, Misty. Just like your cutie mark!"

"You lied to me." Misty said, who felt like she was about to explode.

"DON'T GIVE HER SPARKY!!!" Hitch yelled.

"DON'T DO IT!!!" Pipp shouted

"ENOUGH!!!" Opaline yelled, as she used her powers to bring out razor sharp thorns around them, which were growing. "Now you have a choice, Misty. Either you let your puny friends die, OR GIVE ME THE DRAGON!!" She said, as she began charging her power, trying to scare the unicorn.

"No! NO!" Misty said, having tears pouring down her eyes as she shut them tight.

"MISTY!!!" Izzy screamed, as she and the others were close to their deaths.

"LAST CHANCE!" Opaline said sharply.

"Misty, please..." Sunny begged, on the brink of death.

Being put in a crossroads, Misty started to think back about the horrible times where she was berated and spurned by Opaline and her friends, but then thought about the good, happier times where she smiled and had fun and hugs with the ponies she loved. After that, she knew she chose friendship. She knew what she had to do now. Time was running out, as it was now or never for her. She opened her eyes with fury, and brought out Sparky. "NOW, SPARKY!!!!!"

Using all that he had left in him, Sparky mustered the strength and fired out the last of his dragon fire. Taking Opaline by surprise, the fire collided with the Unity Crystals on her necklace, which then cracked and got destroyed. At the same time, a huge explosion occurred, blasting them away and draining everyone's magic from them, where they all scream in pain and collapse into unconsciousness despite being saved. Tongues of Fire were free from their evil possession, the firestorm has stopped, and everyone got their cutie marks back... But because the crystals were destroyed, the magic has died.

Opaline, now weakened and powerless again, reopened her eyes and gasped in horror as she saw the shattered crystals on the floor. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed, as she crawled towards them and tried to get them back together. "No, no, no, no, no...!" But it was no use, as she broke down in angry tears. Her plans were foiled for good.

Misty and the others went to check on Sunny and Sparky, who were still unconscious. Sparky's color returned to normal, but Sunny lost her rainbow hair since the magic had gone.

"What have you done...?" Opaline weeped, and suddenly shouted in rage. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!?!?!?!"

The other ponies looked down in heartbreak, as all was lost forever. Everything was quiet all around, even outside. But suddenly, sparkles started to appear from the destroyed crystals. They appeared even more frequently as everyone saw what was happening.

"If only you knew any better..." Someone said, and suddenly, a purple alicorn appeared in front of Opaline. "...OPALINE ARCANA!!" It was Twilight Sparkle! Everyone gasped from this, and Twilight angrily picked up Opaline with her magic, who struggled to break free.

"Is.. is that...?!" Zipp said, feeling speechless.

"It's Twilight Sparkle!!" Misty shouted surprisingly.

"Twilight?! You can't be-" Opaline tried to say.

"I TOLD YOU THAT MAGIC WAS NOT YOURS TO TAKE!" Twilight said right at her face. "But now, you've crossed the line!" She then threw Opaline into the ground. "I've waited too long to do this! You took away my friends, my home, EVERYTHING I LOVED!! And now that you've done all this, YOU WON'T MIND ME RETURNING THE FAVOR!!!" She then unleashed some hard thorns from the ground around Opaline, which strangled her tightly on her neck and legs. But also, the Elements of Harmony, which were destroyed back in ancient times, have been resurrected and they applied themselves onto the Mane 6, which made them so powerful and brought them up in the air.

"Wha- what's happening to us!?" Pipp asked, feeling scared.

"It's the Elements of Harmony!" Misty said. "THEY'RE BACK!"

"And they've chosen US!!" Zipp said happily.

"WHAT?!!" Izzy shouted in shock. "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS, LOOK AT ALL THE SPARKLES!!"

Sunny was surprised herself, seeing how much power she and her friends have in possession of the elements. One by one, they grabbed each others hooves and held them together, and everyone else from the battlefield saw them powering up.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?!" Zack asked Jelly.

"It's the power of the elements! Exactly like in one of your stories!!"

"Misty...!" Alphabittle said softly, as he and Haven were seeing it themselves.

"My babies!" Haven said with worry.

Opaline, who still couldn't break free from the grasp of the thorns, looked up and saw the Mane 6, who were charging their ultimate power at her, and became completely horrified. "The Elements of Harmony! HOW!?"

"You said it yourself!" Sunny said. "We are the GUARDIANS of Harmony!"

Now fully charged, they unleashed their ultimate power down on Opaline, who screamed out in absolute agony and got vaporized to her death. Soon afterwards, the castle began to collapse around them, as the ponies and dragons outside got clear of the falling building, and a huge flow of dust spreads over them. The dust cleared a few seconds later, as Sparky and the Mane 6 appeared to have been shielded from the falling rubble. They all opened their eyes, feeling relieved to have survived the chaos. But Sunny was the only exception, and after the shield was depleted, she collapsed to the ground, and her friends got into a fright as they checked on her.

"*gasp* Sunny!" Izzy said.

"What happened, is she okay?!" Pipp asked.

Sparky bended down next to her head and tried to listen for any breaths. He began crying as there weren't any coming from her. "She's... she's not breathing!!" He said, as he and the others think her heart stopped beating.

"No! No-no-no!" Hitch said, as he attempted to revive her by pushing her belly. "Come on, Sunny! Come on, come back to us!! COME ON!!"

"Sunny, open your eyes!" Izzy said in tears. "SAY SOMETHING!"

"Sunny, we need you to breathe!" Misty cried, who was holding her head.

"SUNNY, PLEASE!" Pipp begged.

"Can you hear us!?!" Zipp asked.

Everyone else around them ran up and saw what happened in horror and heartbreak.

"Oh no!" Haven said.

"SOMEBODY HELP!!!" Misty screamed out.

"SUNNY, DON'T DO THIS TO US!!" Hitch shouted.

"Please! Wake up, Sunny...!" Sparky begged.

They kept begging for Sunny to respond, and Hitch tried all he could to revive her... but none of it worked. She was gone...

"Sunny...?!" Izzy said weakly, as her voice broke. "No!"

Hitch gave up and broke down in tears. "Oh, Sunny, we're sorry..."

"No, she can't be...!" Pipp sobbed, as her mother comforted her.

"We're sorry...!" Hitch weeped, as the others cried in complete heartbreak, having all felt that they deeply regretted rejecting her. He roared in anguish, as Figgy went up to hug him, and Zipp and Sparky joined in.

Haven went to comfort her daughters, and Alphabittle comforted Misty, hugging her tightly. Izzy stayed right by Sunny's side, refusing to let her go, but Jelly tried to take her away.

"Izzy... you have to leave her..." She said.

"No... No, I won't...!"

"Look, there's nothing you can do, she's gone!"

"NO!!" Izzy snapped, stunning Jelly, who stepped away and left her to cradle Sunny. "Sunny... we're so sorry... We said we needed you... but you needed us more... I know you would never betray us..." She said in tears of grief, as she took off her bracelet and left it on her friend's dead body. "You're my best friend, Sunny... And I'll always love you..." Jelly slowly but gently took her in, and she continued sobbing into her belly.

With Sunny and the magic gone, everything seemed lost, as everyone mourned her death. Having saw it all for himself, Zack was devastated as he walked up to Sunny and looked down on her. He slowly leaned into her and kissed her mouth, before deciding to leave her in tears. But then, a magical light appeared inside Sunny's body, swirling around it, and it even restores her rainbow mane. Zack gasped at this as he looks back at her, who slowly opened her eyes and looked back at him. She was revived; her injuries were healed!

"Z... Zack?"

"Sunny!" Zack chuckled in tears of joy.

"Are... are you an angel?" Sunny asked, and this made Zack laugh, having him think she made a loving comeback to when they first met. They then smiled at each other and kissed.

Haven opened her eyes and gasped in surprise. "Girls, look!" She said, as Pipp and Zipp turned to see their friend alive.

"Sunny... She's alive!" Figgy said happily, as Hitch and Sparky gasped.

"Misty!" Alphabittle alerted, as the blue unicorn turned and gasped to see that Sunny was back to life.

Jelly and Izzy saw this too and couldn't believe it. As Sunny and Zack continued kissing, their cutie marks glowed and the Pegasus' wings lit up and flapped. He gasped as he and Sunny were raised up into the sky, and the earth pony's alicorn magic returned. And when it summoned a massive bloom, all of the magic had also returned in Equestria, giving everyone their powers back. Sunny and Zack saw everyone smiling and cheering from above. Beginning to cry, Sunny smiled as she flew into Zack for a hug and sobbed.

"I love you!" She said, as they slowly descended to the ground.

"*sniff* I love you more." Zack smiled, fighting his tears. "Good comeback, by the way."

Behind them, Sunny's friends were so happy that they ran up to her, wanting for a big hug. She turned to see them and was emotionally relieved, as they embraced together in reconciliation.

"Oh, guys...!"

"I thought we lost you!" Pipp sobbed.

"I thought I lost you guys." Sunny said. "I thought I lost my family... where I really belonged. I'm sorry..."

"No... it's okay now." Hitch said. "We're sorry, too."

"Friends do screw up sometimes." Izzy said. "But you couldn't lose us, even if you wanted to."

"Yeah, you were in so much pressure of everything that was going on." Zipp said. "We should've known better."

"We wouldn't forgive ourselves if we lost you." Misty said.

"I promise. I promise... that I will never betray you ever again."

"We know. And we forgive you." Izzy smiled, as they group hugged again.

"I love you all so much."

"We love you too, Sunny." Zipp said. 

"We would never hate each other, no matter what." Misty said.

"BFF's forever and ever." Izzy said.

Sunny opened her eyes and was proud to see Sparky jumping up to her. "Sparky! You're okay."

"I'm so happy you're okay, Sunny." The dragon said.

"We all are." Hitch said. "No more Opaline, no more dangers."

"And nightmares?" Sparky added.

"Yeah, that as well. *snicker*"

Zack watched on as he smiled that Sunny was back together with her friends. But suddenly, the ground began shaking around them, as everyone got clear of the rubble.

"What's happening here!?" Pipp asked. "Oh, please don't let it be another threat!"

Mere seconds later, a giant purple castle rises out of the ground, as everyone gasped by its magical, sparkling look. The gates opened, as they all walked through and looked around in awe. Then, the castle doors opened, revealing Twilight walking out.

"*laugh* It's not a threat, Pipp Petals." Twilight said. "It's my new castle!"

"WHAT?!" Pipp shouted in shock. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE KNOWS WHO I AM?!!!"

"Apparently, I know everypony."

Pipp squealed in such happiness, and fainted to the ground, but Zipp caught her.

"Whoa! Sorry, Your Highness. She needs some work."

The others couldn't believe their eyes when they were staring at the purple alicorn. It was like they've never seen an alicorn before.

"It's... it's really her!" Jazz said.

"Twilight Sparkle!" Sweets said, feeling starstruck.

"What a cool alicorn!" Onyx said.

"Okay, my eyes do not deceive me!" Jelly said, as she joyfully took a picture of the alicorn with her phone.

Sunny and the others walked up to her. "I... I can't believe it's really you!" She said, amazed. "Twilight, we thought you were..."

"You thought I was gone? Not really. I was trapped in those Unity Crystals that I created a long time ago. That was when Opaline tried to take all the magic away for herself that day."

"True, but I don't think we should be worrying about her anymore." Spike said, as he walked through the crowd and appeared in front of her, who began tearing up.

"Spike...?"

"Hello, Twilight. It's me."

"Oh, Spike!"

Having not seen each other for so long, they had a warm embrace.

"I missed you so much." Twilight said.

"Me too. If only our friends could see all of this..."

Assessing this herself, Izzy felt so emotional and cried again. "Now this... this is what I call a happy reunion." She smiled.

"It's much more than that." Sunny said. "Together is where they belong."

"Where is it? The Dragon Stone?" Spike asked.

"Still in one piece." Twilight smiled, as she brought it out and gave it to him.

"Thank you."

"It belongs to the dragons, after all." She reminded, and she then turned to Sunny. "Sunny Starscout... what you did was very risky... but also very brave. Opaline Arcana took everything that we loved away from us. Our friends, our home, and our family." 

"We know... and we're sorry."

"But thanks to you and your friends, she is no more. Your love and care for each other in that darkest moment was what brought back not only me... but the Elements of Harmony, too." She said, as she revealed them to the Mane 6. "And that was what led to her demise."

"Really? But weren't they destroyed back then?" Hitch asked.

"They were, but ever since you freed me, I was able to bring them all back together and have you six in possession of them, unlocking the ultimate power of friendship to overpower and defeat the alicorn who only cared about fear and hatred. If it weren't for any of you ponies, then Equestria would've been lost forever. But now, the world is freed from evil once again. Me and my friends used them before, so it's now my responsibility to hand over and grant you six the Elements of Harmony." She announced, as she gave every one of them their own element.

"Wait, you... you really mean it?!" Izzy said happily.

"So... does this officially make us the new Guardians of Harmony?" Misty asked. "I mean, we did defeat Opaline together, right?"

"Of course you did, Misty. And yes, I do mean it."

Izzy cheered wildly after hearing that, feeling happier than she ever felt before.

"But what about the Unity Crystals?" Sunny asked, feeling unsure. "Without them-"

"It's okay. You don't need them anymore. All you need from now on... is to believe in yourself. And promise us that you will continue your mission on spreading friendship, love and care, wherever you may go."

"We won't disappoint you, Twilight." Sunny smiled.

"Um... Sheriff Hitch?" Sparky said, having thought of something.

"What? Did you just call me Sheriff?" He said, taken by surprise.

"Can I...?" He tried to ask, as he turned to look at Misty with a cute face.

She didn't know what he was doing. "Wha... why are you looking at me like that?" Misty asked. "I don't understand."

"I think he... wants to be with you." Hitch thought.

Misty widened her eyes. "Me? But you're his dragon-dad, aren't you?"

"Well... yeah, but..."

Sparky turned to face back at him. "Please?" He asked.

Hitch wasn't sure about this. He didn't even know it would come so soon, as it felt like it was time to say goodbye.

"Hitch, I... I think you should." Zack said, stepping forward.

Hitch felt sad for a moment, but later nodded with a brave smile. "Yeah, you're right. I'm a dragon-dad no more. It's about time I focus on the one thing I wanted the most. And that's being a good sheriff." He said, facing Zipp, which made her proud of him.

"I had a feeling you would say that." She said.

Hitch then looked down on Sparky, feeling like he wanted to cry, and they had a hug.

"I'm sorry for everything." Sparky said.

"It's okay, Sparky. But this isn't goodbye. I'll still see you." He said, as he rubbed his head.

"You too." The dragon said, as he went up to Misty, who smiled and picked him up for a cuddle. He now belongs to her.

"Oh, Sparky!" Misty giggled.

"Aww, isn't this a sweet surprise?" Alphabittle said, joining beside Misty.

"It's even sweeter as us being together..." Haven said, kissing his head.

Spike was observing this himself, and he felt touched. "Seeing this... *sniff* reminds me of when I was little." He said to Twilight.

"Yeah. How much we missed those days."

"You earned him, Misty." Hitch said. "He's now yours."

"Thank you, Hitch."

Sunny then touched her in comfort. "You saved us." She said, seeing her as a hero. "You saved everyone."

"Kinda wanted to say that we saved everyone." Misty chuckled.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Sunny chuckled along.

Then, Sprout came up to them, clearing his throat. "Excuse me, Sheriff Hitch? So, about my, uh... machine-thingy. I know the first outing was... terrible and unforgiving, but... was I a good helper, this time?" He asked, reminding him that Sunny did say he would get his job back. 

Sunny smirked for a bit and asked Hitch. "Well, what do you say?"

Hitch had to think for a sec, and said... "*sigh* Well, we know what you did back then was wrong..." 

"Really wrong..." Zipp agreed.

"But what you did today? It was right."

"Really right. And helpful of you."

"You had a change of heart. So, I'm pleased to say... you've earned your reinstatement." Hitch said, as he handed Sprout his deputy badge back. "Welcome back, Deputy Sprout."

Sprout felt like crying for a sec, but he deeply sighed and fought them back. "Okay! You will not regret this, I swear on my life."

"I am proud of you, sugarcube." Phyllis smiled.

"HEY!!" Reaper shouted out, getting their attention. "Hey, sorry to burst this bonding moment and all, but... WHAT ABOUT THE GLASTONPONY FESTIVAL!?"

"Repear, dude, can you just chillax for one second?!" Flamber said. "But he's right! What about it?"

"Yeah, we wanna get back on stage and finish what we started!" Stoner added.

"And let these guys rock and do their part!" Doomer said, pointed out to the other artists, who laughed.

"He does have a point, and I'll have you know that I'm dying to play my new single!" Ruby said, opening her wings.

"Oooh, YES!!" Pipp squealed. "We cannot wait to hear you sing it! Right, Sunny?"

"I think we should postpone the festival for now. Because I have something I wanna do first..."





A few days later, after fixing the Crystal Brighthouse's tower, Sunny decided to have the Glastonpony Festival take place at Melody Water Park, much to Jelly's delight, who was at the security gate. Although still doing one of her jobs, she was so excited and couldn't wait for it to start.

"Alright, everyone, you know the drill! Step on up, show me your tickets, and get ready to have the best day of your lives!!" She called out in happiness.

Sunny's friends were all surprised by how amazing the park looked.

"Ooh, THIS IS SO BIGGER THAN I EVER THOUGHT!!!" Izzy shouted. "Look out, everyone! HERE COMES THE CANNONBALL OF IZZY MOONBOW!!!" She ran off to a pool in absolute joy, and bombed right into it, making a massive splash.

"Hey, be careful, Izzy!" Sunny said, chuckling. "*sigh* I'm just kidding. She's already loving it like I did."

"Oh yeah." Zack agreed. "Maybe not as ecstatic as you were, but she's still ecstatic."

Zipp and Hitch were riding down the Slide of Heaven, laughing as they flew off the ramps and into the pool.

"Should we do this thing more often?" Hitch asked. "I feel like I'm in the zone!"

"Sunny was right." Zipp chuckled. "This really is the place for a splashing good time. Especially that we're here together." She put her hoofs around him, who felt really touched by it.

"Yeah... just me and you." He smiled, as the two kissed.

Pipp, Misty and Sparky were throwing water bombs at each other, laughing in the process.

"You have to do better than that, Misty!" Pipp said, as she threw a bomb at her, who dodged it.

"I know my surroundings better than you do, Pipp! And I'm just getting started!" A bomb hit her from behind, as she turned to see it was Sparky, who laughed out.

"Gotcha!" He said, as he started running.

"Ooh, you get back here, LITTLE SPARKY!!" Misty called out, as she and Pipp chased him down, whilst Sunny and Zack watched on.

"So, what are you gonna do, now that you quit your job?" She asked him.

"I dunno. Maybe become a co-smoothie operator? Lend you an extra hoof?"

"Wait, are you serious?"

"You know I would be if I love you." He replied, which made Sunny giggle. "Oh, and um... did you forget your gift again?"

Sunny brought out the sphere from her bag, having reminded herself. "Not this time."

"Atta-girl." Zack smirked.

As the day progressed, the festival began as the bands and singers performed on stage, giving everyone an amazing time. When it got to dusk, Pipp was up last, promising to present a big finale, as she had Sunny's gift in her hooves.

"I hope everyone's had a magical and unforgettable day here at Glastonpony!" She called out, as the crowd cheered. "Thank you so much! And now, for tonight's big finale, I cannot wait to show you all a very special surprise that I have in store. This is from a very close friend of ours, and he has been making it for such a long time. He said that it's a sign of unity, magic, and more importantly, what Equestria should always and forever be about - friendship." 

After saying that, Pipp then placed the sphere in a frame, which began ascending into the sky. Its lights lit up around the sphere, which brought out a magical, sparkling aurora. Everyone gasped in awe as they stared at it, and soon after, Pipp began singing along to her music, with the first song being her new single, which everyone fell in love with. The Pippsqueaks were tearing up, and her friends cheered for her. Sunny and Zack were watching it from afar, sitting on top of a cliff.

Sunny turned to Zack and nudged him. "Here's to the future?"

Zack faced back at her and said... "Here's to right now."

They smiled at each other lovingly, and as soon as the fireworks set off in the sky, they leaned in for a kiss, having a warm hug in the process, whilst their parents' spirts watched them from above, who too had a warm embrace. The aurora later spreads to Twilight's castle, who she and Spike looked out together from the balcony. Even without their friends, their legacy lived on within Sunny and the others, a.k.a. the new Guardians of Harmony.


 THE END