A momentous occasion was about to occur. This was sure to be a day that would be remembered for countless generations. Princess Twilight knew that today would mark a new age for Equestria. After all, it's future was in her hooves.
Twilight was deeply focused on this fact as she stepped up the trail to the top of Canterlot mountain. The peak was where she would cast the spell that would define future generations. It was a good thing, then, that she wasn't alone. On her right was her faithful assistant and Friendship Abassador Spike, and on her left was her determined captain of the Royal Guard Gallus. Twilight certainly appreciated having these two for moral support for what she was about to do.
"Princess Twilight."
Twilight was brought out of her silent musing by the voice, and she turned to the griffon in golden armor on her left. "Yes, Captain Gallus?"
The blue griffon had a pensive look on his face, one that he had been holding ever since they had left the castle. He continued to wear this thoughtful expression as he said, "It's not too late for you to turn back, you know."
Twilight didn't stop walking as she looked questioningly at Gallus. "Turn back? That's just not an option at this point."
Gallus looked up at his ruler; long legs, ethereal flowing mane and all. He inhaled sharply and said, "I'm sure the Princess of Equestria is free to change her mind."
Twilight was perplexed as she stared down at Gallus. "Have you forgotten what Opaline Arcana is capable of? Of what she will do if she is able to steal enough pony and dragon magic? The whole world would burn. That is why the magic must be locked away in the Unity Crystals and the Dragonstone. It's for the best."
"I don't see how crippling all ponykind and forcing all dragonkind into a coma is 'for the best'," Gallus remarked, tapping into the snarkiness of his youth.
"Gallus," Spike hissed, the nervous look on his face coming off as humorous due to the way it clashed with his massive muscular body.
Twilight was clearly unamused by Gallus' comment, and she said sharply, "Captain, you have worked very hard and proven yourself many times throughout your youth and adulthood. You are the youngest Captain of the Guard Equestria has ever seen. You were my student once, and you rose from a painful past to where you are now. That is why things have always been quite casual and relaxed between us. I have always given you some leeway and license to speak freely. But this is a very serious matter. I expect you to behave in a professional manner. In short: tread lightly."
Gallus gulped when the princess glared down at him, but he hardened his gaze and asked, "But is this truly the only way?"
Twilight sighed and said, "Opaline has already begun to turn the three pony races against each other. If pony magic isn't contained now, the races may very well use it against each other."
"So . . .why didn't you take everyone's magic away when Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek did that?" Gallus asked rather bluntly.
"It's not the same-."
"Taking away magic would only make things worse," Gallus continued, his head raised higher as he marched onward beside Twilight, "The races will only blame each other for the loss of magic and fight each other even more. There will always be prejudice I the world. Trying to get rid of it by force will only make it grow." Gallus voice gained more and more confidence as he spoke, "Why not just send creatures out to talk to the ponies and get them to see reason. Like how me and me friends did before the Battle of the Bell."
"Things. Are. Different," Twilight said, clearly frustrated by this point, "Opaline is too dangerous-."
"She's not as dangerous as those three were."
"She's an alicorn."
"Cozy Glow was an alicorn."
"A fire alicorn."
"I'm pretty sure Sombra was stronger than her."
"Enough," Twilight said sternly, her legs moving on auto pilot as she focused ahead of her, a nervous dragon walking on her right and an irate griffon marching on her left, "This is not up for debate. The decision has already been made. The magic will be kept safe in the Dragonstone and Unity Crystals, I will create the Invisibubble around Equestria-."
"And break-off all the friendships that Equestria has made with the griffons, abyssinians, changeling, hippogriffs, kirins, yaks, diamond dogs, deer, and zebras," Gallus interrupted with seething bitterness.
"SILENCE!"
The trio stopped moving as the Royal Canterlot Voice echoed across the mountain. The creatures in Canterlot could probably hear it.
Gallus felt sweat run down his head as he continued to face straight ahead. He could feel the princess glaring at him.
"Gallus, I don't want to do this. I have to do this. The future of this world is my responsibility. I don't need my Captain of the Guard to make things harder for me. Understood?"
Twilight's voice was that of a stern teacher, and yet it was somehow unrecognizable to Gallus, who was once a student of hers back when the School of Friendship was just starting out. Gallus nodded and replied, "Understood."
The trio resumed walking, and after a moment Gallus turned to his right. Twilight was facing straight ahead, but Spike was looking his way and mouthed the word "sorry."
Gallus scowled and said, "Sleep tight."
Spike looked uncomfortable and turned away.
The rest of the walk was silent and uneventful. Naturally, this meant it felt like it took forever to finally arrive at the peak.
"Here we are," Twilight said solemnly, and she stepped forward.
Gallus' stern look became a pleading look, and he said, "You're making a mistake, Twilight."
"Enough, Captain," Twilight said sternly.
"You're playing right into Opaline's hooves."
Spike shook his head and said, "Gallus, buddy. Stop. You can't-"
"You'll divide the races even further! You'll destroy Equestria! Ponies and other creatures will be seperate-."
Twilight spun around and flared her wings out as she shouted at the griffon, "Do you want to be court-martialed!?"
It wasn't the Royal Canterlot Voice, but to Gallus, those words echoed louder than anything he could imagine.
Gallus let out a sad sigh and said, "So. . . that's the way it is. . . Bummer."
Gallus threw his head back and let out a piercing eagle cry. In response, an entire battalion of Pegasi guards swooped out of the clouds and surrounded Twilight, spears pointed right at her. Then, in a multitude of flashes, a battalion of unicorn guards teleported in around Twilight and aimed their horns at her. Finally, a battalion of earth pony guards rushed in and surrounded Twilight as well. The earth ponies all wore padded shoe armor so no one could hear them following the trio.
The look on Twilight's face was that of utter shock and disbelief. Not since her brother's wedding had she felt such heartbreak and confusing despair. It honestly hurt Gallus to look at it, but he steeled himself and said, "The ponies of Equestria love you and trust you Twilight, so they might agree with whatever you suggest. But when you get down to it, nobody wants their magic taken away from them. You say that ponies can still access it as long as they remain unified, but putting a condition on their natural abilities? On what they were born with? On their natural rights as person? That's just sick. You can't hold magic hostage like that to force harmony. All that does is breed resentment and encourage disharmony. And don't use Opaline as an excuse. We've fought and defeated worse than her with less. I spoke with all my good soldiers, and they all agreed. Every Royal Guard swore an oath to protect Equestria with their lives. So now, we are going to protect Equestria. . . from you."
Gallus looked Twilight directly in the eye. Her expression of horror had now changed to that of disappointment. She closed her eyes calmly and said, "Spike. I need you to-."
"No."
Twilight's eyes snapped open, and she looked at Spike with hurt in her eyes. Spike turned away and said, "I don't want to do this, Twilight. This plan. . . It's just all wrong. I know I'm a dragon. . . but this is just too soon! I don't want to sleep. I'm not ready to leave you. . . our friends. . . Shining and Cadence. . . Gabby. . ."
Spike wiped some tears away, took a deep breath, and looked up into the horizon at the setting Sun. "I'm taking the Dragonstone back to Ember. . .I'm sorry."
Spike flapped his wings and took off as fast as he could, and Gallus watched him go. He nodded and said, "I knew he'd make the right choice."
Gallus then turned to look at Twilight, and the princess didn't appear to be doing so well. She was once again the very image of heartbreak and horror. As she stood surrounded by her own Royal Guard, her jaw hung open as her ethereal and tail continued to flow. Her eyes also appeared to be glazed over, as if she wasn't entirely all there.
Gallus swallowed his feelings and cleared his throat. "Princess Twilight Sparkle," he began, "You are under arrest for conspiracy to seize power, terrorism against the Dragonlands, and high treason against Equestria. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say-."
An unholy scream burst out of Twilight's mouth, and with it came a blinding burst of purple light from the alicorn's horn. When the light faded, not a single Royal Guard was left standing. The ponies were either unconscious, barely conscious, or in too much pain to move.
Gallus was the least injured, thanks to the special protective enchantments placed on his Guard Captain armor. However, he was still thrown back several meters and landed flat on his back on the hard ground. Just as he was beginning to get his bearings, a strong telekinetic force seized him and pulled him forward.
Gallus was now eye to eye with a truly enraged Twilight. Her pupils were tiny her ethereal mane was jagged with sharp edges.
"I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING!" Twilight screamed, and with a flick of her horn she flipped Gallus over and slammed his back onto the ground.
"IF IT WEREN'T FOR MY SCHOOL OF FRIENDSHIP, YOU'D STILL BE AN ORPHAN IN GRIFFONSTONE!"
Twilight flung Gallus several yards away, and he bounced painfully across the hard, rocky ground. As he lay there, Twilight advanced towards him, towering over him as hot tears of rage ran down her cheeks.
"YOUR EDUCATION! YOUR FRIENDS! YOUR HOME! YOUR JOB! YOUR MILITARY HONORS! YOU OWE IT ALL TO ME! AND YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD BETRAY ME?!"
Gallus tried to get up, but Twilight used her magic to pin him down to the ground. Her teeth were clenched, and her eyes were filled with anguish. She took no pleasure in this, all she felt was rage.
"YOU'RE GOING STRAIGHT TO TARTARUS!"
Gallus grunted as Twilight's magic pressed onto him. He glared back at the alicorn and said, "No. . . I'm. . . not."
"WHY NOT?!"
Gallus breathed in, and he smiled and said, "Friendship is magic."
Twilight blinked. "What?"
SLAM!
Twilight had been so enraged that she didn't see Yona coming until it was to late. The yak slammed into her with all her yak might, and tossed her into a large rock with a flick of her horns. Twilight's body was wracked with pain from the attack, but she got back up and charged at Yona while shouting a war cry. However, Twilight's anger induced tunnel vision prevented her from seeing Sandbar run towards her from the left, pivot, and buck with all of his earth pony strength.
The two hooves, enhances by innate earth pony magic, struck Twilight's cheek and jaw and sent her spinning. Spittle went flying as Twilight got back up again and pointed her horn at Sandbar. But before Twilight could cast a spell, Silverstream descended from the sky and landed a solid kick with her rear hooves right at the base of the alicorn's horn. The pain disrupted her ability to focus her magic, but Twilight's wings open up and flapped, taking up as her eyes targeted Silverstream.
From behind, Smolder swooped down and spat out a fireball that struck Twilight right on her back. The alicorn fell in a heap of burning feathers, grounded by the dragoness' attack. Twilight raised her head and saw Gallus still lying on the ground. With one more cry of rage, she galloped towards him. Twilight did not expect a maulwurf to burst out of the ground. The giant mole creature grabbed Twilight in her massive claws, jumped into the air, flipped so that Twilight was between her stomach and the ground, and then bellyflopped the hard unforgiving ground.
CRAAAAASH!
When the dust settled, Ocellus was breathing heavily while standing before a round crater that contained a battered and bruised alicorn.
"No more tyrants," Ocellus said in a harsh whisper, "Not Chrysalis. Not you. Not anyone. King Thorax told the changelings that it's our duty to overthrow him if he ever turned evil. The sane applies to you, Twilight."
As the six friends gathered around, Twilight looked up at them and snarled, "You. . . TRAITORS!"
Gallus looked at her incredulously and said, "Traitors? Really? You're the one who betrayed everything you ever stood for! Stealing everyone's magic was Tirek and Cozy Glow's thing. Did you really think we were gonna let you take the easy way out instead of fixing things the right way?"
"He's right!" Silverstream asserted, a fierce gleam in the normally peppy hippogriff's eye, "We weren't gonna let you get away with that. Did you think I wouldn't remember what happened to Mount Aris when the Storm King endulged in that kind of megalomania?!"
"All I want is to keep everything safe," Twilight moaned.
Sandbar shook his head and said, "You weren't going to keep everything safe. You just wanted to control everypony. You gotta just go with the flow, Princess. You know, kinda like the ocean."
"I am the sole ruler of Equestria," Twilight hissed, no bothering to listen to Sandbar's words, "It's my job to protect the world's future."
"The future is not your to protect," Gallus declared as he stood with the utmost certainly, "The future belongs to our generation."
"And our future ain't a thousand year nap!" Smolder added bitterly.
Twilight glared hatefully at Gallus and said, "You don't know anything. I need to make those Unity Crystals. You can't contain me. Magic is literally my element. Once I recover, you won't be able to stop me."
Gallus nodded, "I know," he then turned and pointed at the glowing horizon. "Do you know what time it is?"
Twilight turned and looked, "Well, it's twilight. But so what? My magic will be back before long."
Gallus looked towards his friends, and they all exchanged glances and nodded. Everything was going according to plan.
Gallus closed his eyes and whispered, "Tree of Harmony, give us strength."
The six friends all closed their eyes, and they each glowed a different color. Twilight's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. In a flash, six beams of colored light ascended, twisted into a rainbow, and descended right towards her.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The rainbow beam carried the alicorn into the twilight, then scattered her essence into the golden light.
The six diverse creatures stood in silence as they reflected on what they had just done. Then, Yona asked, "So. . . What friends do now?"
Gallus turned to his friends abd smiled, "Heh. Now? Let's go take care of Opaline."
1 Month Later
Opaline Arcana paced inside her cage in Tartarus. She could not believe how wrong things had gone. She had managed to absorb so much magic, and yet still she was defeated. But then again, she did not expect literally every army in the entire world to swarm her. The kirins, or technically niriks, were the worst, as her fire magic had no effect on their flaming forms.
And the worst part was that Twilight Sparkle didn't even show up. Opaline could've accepted that another alicorn had bested her, but no. It seemed that the architect of her defeat was a lowly griffon.
"Curse you Gallus," Opaline spat, "I swear I will have my revenge."
"Indeed."
Opaline turned around and saw the spectral form of Twilight Sparkle standing outside the cage. The tall alicorn's body was shimmering and translucent, as if she wasn't really there.
"Sparkle?" Opaline asked, clearly surprised to see her here and in such an odd state.
"You know what they say," Twilight began, and she smiled and said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."