Author’s Note: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! DAT PREMIERE. O.O King Sombra was super menacing, was he not? Wish he talked more though. :/ However, DAT ENDING. Just…..Just………………. “There. Are. No. Words.” :O Watch my reaction video!! ( Reeeemindderrrr…[ Nrdygrl4ever ] is my username on Youtube. ‘Without the brackets of course.’ I got like…5 crapparific vids on there. Yup. Life’s good. X3
Look at all these reviews! Are you guys parasprites? Cuz you’re devouring my heart…. BAHA! XD <3 ILAMOL (Meaning: I Laugh At My Own Lameness.) Eeyup. So, this story is getting there. I have kind of gone off plan a little, but I’m glad it’s getting a least a TINY BIT closer to the end. Wait and see what shall happen…
>:)
Chapter Nineteen
“Keeping Hope”
“Keep going, Tia!” cheered Luna. “You have to try again. Please don’t give up now!”
“It’s no use, Lu,” said an exhausted, glossy-eyed Celestia. “I can’t pass this test. I’ll never get this spell to work.”
“Come on, Sister! Mother said she had so much faith in you! Please try! I know you’ll do it! Just try it one more time!” said Luna jumping up in down in encouragement, her little wings flitting out in excitement.
“Okay…One more try,” sighed Celestia. Her horn glowed a bright pink and her eyes turned white. Then she closed her eyes and furrowed her brow while beads of sweat collected on her forehead. Then, a burst of light and color revealed a giant rainbow floating above Luna’s head. Celestia opened her eyes and gasped. “I did it!” She grinned and giggled as she levitate the sparkling rainbow all around the room.
“I knew you could, Tia!” said Luna jumping up and down. “Wait until Mother sees it! It’s so beautiful!”
“Thanks for not giving up on me, Little Sister,” said Celestia, wrapping the warm rainbow around Luna, making her giggle.
__________________________
It was such a rare event that Celestia was the one that needed encouragement. When was she ever down in the dumps? Luna could only muster up little bits of memory like this one of whenever her older sister needed encouragement from her. Since Tia was older than her, she always solved her own problems. Always being six years apart, Luna never paid much attention to her sister’s “big filly” problems. However, now was a time where she felt like Celestia needed her help more than ever before in their whole lives. She could no longer ignore Celestia, who had secluded herself into a shadowy corner as if she were trying to hide from the light seeping in from the mouth of the cave.
“Sister, it’s been hours! Please won’t you tell me what’s going on?!” Luna demanded as she approached the end of the cave and watched her shadow envelop a gray, listless Celestia. “I know Discord said something to you. I know it. How is it that you’ll have to kill him?!”
“Luna…please. Let me be. I…I can’t tell you all what happened in there,” Celestia replied in a tone that was barely audible. Her voice was so cracked and faded. She barely shifted her eyes up to Luna. “It was good you stayed here. It’s too….too much. Our friend…is…he’s….a monster. There’s nothing we can do for him now. Did you not hear me before? It’s over. Over before it even began. I was willing to fight. To do anything to protect my kingdom, Luna. Mother and Father trusted me. It was my responsibility and I failed. I’ve failed them all. And why? Because I won’t be able to defeat him. He’s too powerful. He learned it all from Eris. He…was vulnerable. It was all her, Luna. She knew this was going to happen. She set it all in motion and…I only made things worse. I wasn’t ready. I….I’m not now….and I never will be. I’ll never be able to protect Equestria. I’ll never be the princess our parents wanted.”
“Tia, don’t say that,” said Luna. “It’s not true. Mother and Father new you were ready when you gained Forevermore! Yes, you turned Discord down and yes, he became evil and trained with Eris so he could rule Equestria. You couldn’t have known what would be. It doesn’t mean we can’t fix things now.”
“I wish I could go back,” said Celestia swallowing hard. “If there was a way to.”
“Maybe there is a way!” said Luna gasping and her body practically levitating off the stone floor due to her epiphany. “Star Swirl! He can help! I know he can! He’s done so much magic in the past before. He even taught you how to bring Discord back to life that one time. I know he can do something to help us fix all this chaos!”
“Oh…Luna. I…I don’t know…” said Celestia in an unsure voice. “What if he can’t?”
“It’s worth a shot, Tia!” Luna said pleadingly. “Why are you acting this way? You’ve never acted this way? You’ve always been eager to ask Star Swirl for help! That’s what he’s here for! He’s the most powerful unicorn in the land! He’s always assisted our parents and he’ll help us now!”
“I’m not sure even his magic can fix all the damage,” Celestia replied, sighing. “Everything is torn apart now.” Luna felt a hot rage building up inside her.
“Shut up, Tia!” she yelled, making Celestia jerk her head up. “I’m just as upset as you are that this had to happen. Probably not as much…but this is NOT the time to be acting this way! I don’t care what has happened to Discord or Equestria right now. There is ALWAYS a way to fix it. There is ALWAYS hope! You were the one who never gave up on him! You stuck by his side through thick and thin, even though times were hard. Even though he died you still didn’t give up on him and you brought him back to us. So no amount of chaos or darkness is ever going to take him away from you, Celestia. And True Discord…deep down in there somewhere would never want you to give up on him like this. He’d want you to get your flanks off this cave floor and come with me to find Star Swirl. I may be younger than you, Sister. And maybe you’re more powerful than me…and will always be more regal and more admired…but I know when you need help from me. You will always need help. That’s why I’m here. Tia….I’m here….” Luna leaned down in front of Celestia and saw her eyes and face brighten slightly.
“Okay, Luna,” Celestia replied calmly. “We’ll find Star Swirl. Perhaps there is something he can do.” Luna sighed and smiled as Celestia rose to her hooves. The sisters exited the cave and stepped out into the new world. Immediately they found that the weather conditions had changed dramatically. A blast of cold practically knocked Luna off her own feet. Violet clouds hovered above them and an icy, cold blue snow shot down from them. The two sister’s manes were violently blown back by the wind and their fur was almost ripped from their roots. Their bones rattled with the chill and they shut their eyes to protect them from the piercing cold.
“Discord’s control over the weather must be exceeding past Canterlot now,” Celestia yelled over the roaring winds. “The chaos is getting worse. It’s spreading fast.”
“It’ll be all right, Tia. We have to find Star Swirl! Use your telepathic spell!” Celestia gritted her teeth and made her horn glow.
“I can’t get a clear signal in all this wind and snow! We have to climb up higher!”
“Can you make the clouds go away?” Luna asked.
“I’ll try, but there’s so many of them,” said Celestia. She shot some magic beams at the purple clouds overhead, trying to destroy them. She took out several of them. However, they would regenerate immediately afterward. “It’s no use. They come right back. We’ll have to wait it out,” As soon as Celestia and Luna stepped back into the cave, however, the warm summer sun came out and the clouds disappeared.
“What?!” said Luna in annoyance. She stepped outside the cave again and the cold blasted her back inside the cave. “Is this a joke?!”
“It’s like the chaos has a mind of its own,” said Celestia sighing. “I’m afraid we don’t have a choice but to climb the mountain in that snowstorm.” The two darted out of the cave again and charged into the freezing storm of chaos. Luna tried her best to keep up with her sister as they trekked up the mountain. She even had to bite onto the end of her tail at one point to hold onto her. The snow was getting fiercer as they walked higher up the cliff. Shards of ice started collecting on the edges of her fur and hair and tears collected in her eyes and began flying off of them.
“Tiiiiiaaa….” Luna shouted out. “How much further do we have to go? I can’t feel my legs!”
“I’m trying to get a hold of him, Luna!” Celestia shouted back in annoyance. Her horn glowed on and off. “Come on! Come on!” she pleaded. Luna collapsed when they reached the top of the cliff.
“It’s no use,” said Celestia shaking her head. “I can’t get to him! Not in this weather.”
“You…have to try again, Tia! Please,” Luna begged. “One more time!”
Celestia sighed in exhaustion. She reared up and made her horn glow bright, trying to pierce the clouds at the same time of trying to use her telepathy spell. Then, she couldn’t hold it anymore. She collapsed on the ground too. All of a sudden, there was a giant flash and Star Swirl and the Sages appeared on the mountain top with them. Star Swirl made his horn glow bright and all the clouds disappeared. As soon as this happened, the sky was clear again and the day quickly turned into night again. Luna immediately felt the effects of his counter-spell. Her coat no longer felt frozen and feeling was being restored to her limbs. She and Celestia breathed a sigh of relief.
“Star Swirl!” they said in unison, jumping up.
“I came as soon as I got your message, Princess,” he said bowing.
“I was so worried about you. All of you!” said Celestia sighing in relief. “I’m so glad you’re all right. With all the chaos….I…”
“I knew you would want the Sages protected, Your Highness,” said Star Swirl.
“And he made sure we’d all be safe underground,” said Sage Clover.
“But when your Highnesses didn’t join us…” said Smart Cookie.
“We thought that Discord did something awful to all of you,” said Captain Hurricane. “We would’ve protected all of you! Fought him!”
“However….” Said Star Swirl clearing his throat. “I tapped into a memory spell to see what had happened. I…I apologize, Celestia. My magic can sometimes exceed what is…right, I suppose. I wasn’t sure if you were…still alive. Or your parents. I had to know. I know what happened. I saw your memories from your birthday and on. I regretted tapping into such magic and I understand how you shall never forgive me for it. I should think I’ll never practice magic again after this. However it was worth it knowing you princesses were safe here.
“It’s all right, Star Swirl,” said Celestia shaking her head. “You couldn’t have known what had happened. I’m glad you did. At least you knew we were okay. You must not beat yourself up for using that spell.”
“Thank you for understanding, Princess,” said Star Swirl. “Still, I shall burn that spell. It should not be used again. Such things can reveal dark things. Strong emotion. Secrets that never should be known. It is the ultimate invasion and violation. Such things should not be dabbled into.”
“In this case, I think we can make a justification,” Celestia replied, smiling.
“Star Swirl! A just wizard like you should know exactly how to fix everything,” said Luna. “You have so many spells. Isn’t there a way Tia could go back in time maybe?”
“Time travel?” said Sage Clover stunned. “Master, is that even possible?”
“I have discovered a spell that allows it, yes,” said Star Swirl nodding. “However, it is a tricky thing. You won’t be able to reverse what is already happened. You can go back to a certain point in time for a few seconds, but you would be your future self. And there would be a past you as well.”
“Two Celestias?” said Luna. “That’s confusing! Is there a way to…not have two Celestias?” Star Swirl shook his head.
“We are on one path. One…universe, if you will. While there is an alternate universe where there is no chaos occurring now. We can’t cross over or try to reset everything. Everything has already happened in our universe. And considering Celestia changes from moment to moment based upon thoughts, emotions, and ideas. Future versions of her are constantly changing opposed to her past selves. This could even be as much as a second difference. There would be no way to send her back in time and keep her current self and delete her past self. It’s impossible. Besides, that kind of study should also really never be dabbled with either.”
“Obviously!” said Luna, her head spinning. “I’m getting a headache just thinking about that!”
“Is there anything you can do, then Star Swirl?” Celestia asked grimly. “Anything at all? We’re stuck here. There’s no going back and changing anything without…possible dire consequences.”
“I can counter-act the chaos spells, as you saw,” said Star Swirl. “However, Discord’s power as a whole is far too strong for me to deal with. However, Your Highnesses, I may have a solution. As it is now night and won’t be for much longer, perhaps the stars can help us.”
“Yes!” Luna exclaimed! “The stars! I don’t even know why I didn’t think of that before! Tia, let’s try talking to them, please?”
“All right,” said Celestia seriously. She sighed and made her horn glow. Luna and Star Swirl did as well. “Keepers of the Night. Watchers of the World. Entities of Light. I beg you. listen to my plea. Our land is in danger. I have failed our people. Equestria will be doomed. At this rate, perhaps in only a matter of days. Then, it truly will be too late. If there really is a way to end all this. If there’s a way to defeat this villain that has ripped my Discord from me, please, tell me! Please speak!” Luna heard faint whispers beginning from the realm of stars through her magic. This gave her even more hope. They would help. They would. They had to.
“Princess Celestia. Daughter of the sun. Granddaughter of our great goddess Elianna: We hear you. We indeed are the keepers of all that is light and good. We have indeed seen that your mortal world has fallen into chaos and terrible darkness. Such things cannot exist in this land of ours,” several voices spoke at once. The two sisters and Star Swirl could hear the stars talking.
“I know,” Celestia replied. “I must do all I can to repair the damage.”
“You must destroy the chaos at its core, Daughter of the sun,” the stars said. “This creature. The son of Chaos is no longer who you once knew. We’ve watched you and seen how you grew feelings for this creature. It would have been best to ignore them, Princess. To have let him alone. A son of disharmony is born with darkness in him. There’s no hope for him.”
“You’re wrong!” Celestia shouted angrily. “We all have light and darkness in us, don’t we? Does that mean you’d give up on me if I turned on my people? Or…Luna? Your own Princess of the Night, Daughter of the moon? Do you even hear yourselves?”
“Regardless of what you may believe, Sun child, we know and you know there is only one way to destroy such evil. You must end the creature’s life with your magic. It is the only permissible way.”
“NO!” Celestia yelled in defiance. “I won’t! I can’t! I don’t care what you say and I don’t care if you help us! I will not end the life of someone who deserves a second chance! The only one I have ever and will ever love! Does that mean nothing to you?” There was silence for a few moments and then just low whispers as if the stars were talking amongst themselves.
“Tia, I think they’re deciding something,” Luna whispered hopefully.
“Very well, Princess Celestia. It seems, you’ve convinced us, Daughter of the sun,” said the stars after a minute or so. “You won’t have to kill your true love, as we can see it is a sincere love filled with a strong compassion and longing. You wish for him to seek redemption? Very well. Discord will get a chance.” A flash from the sky revealed six orbs of light. They glowed all different colors. They hovered around Celestia and Luna. “We are granting you two Princesses an ancient power that will be strong enough to defeat the chaos in this land. This is the most powerful magic in Ponydom. However, only we stars have ever used it through the ages until recently. When the Sages had to defeat Eris, Discord’s mother, we granted them the harmonious abilities to break her curse on the land.”
“I remember my parents telling me that story,” said Celestia. “And…it was you! You gave them the power. That’s how it happened. And these…orbs are just like the orbs I saw when I gained Forevermore!”
“We are responsible for bestowing the power on you. Your magic was at its maximum. We had done the same with your parents when they lived in the Heavens. However, we cannot bestow this power continuously any longer. We know the time has come for us to give it to the mortal land and trust it to your protection, Princesses. Equestria must be kept safe and harmony must be maintained. This is why we call these The Elements of Harmony.”
“The Elements of Harmony,” said Celestia watching the orbs float to the ground and turn to six crystalline balls. “How do they work?”
“They will become active when a spark is ignited. A spark of magic that lights the heart. Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Laughter are the elements that create a peaceful kingdom. And the final Element of Magic, the most sacred of all…must be kept a secret, Princess. We do not want to risk these falling into the wrong hooves.”
“I understand,” Celestia replied.
“So how will we defeat Discord with these?” Luna asked.
“When the spark is ignited and the Elements are awoken, the chaos will all become contained. At this point in time, he will have the choice to accept the harmony or fight it. If he chooses redemption, redemption it will be. And if not….all chaos must be contained. Which means. He will be turned to stone.”
“Turned to stone?” Celestia cried. “He’ll be dead! He’ll be a statue! If he doesn’t….”
“Fear not. He will only be contained inside the stone. His heart will still be beating, however. He will remain in suspended animation like this for a thousand years time. And after that, the spell will be broken…and he shall break free.” Celestia looked down at the ground and swallowed hard.
“I see…” she whispered quietly. “I see what we must do.”
“However,” said the stars suddenly. “For us to give you the Elements, you must grant us something in return, Daughter of the sun.”
“What do you want?” Celestia asked, glaring at the sky.
“We will tell you….when the time comes…” they replied. All of a sudden, Luna had a strange feeling inside. Sort of like a million eyes were turned on her at this moment. Did it have something to do with her? What could they want with her? After this, there were hushed whispers and then the stars were silent. The conversation was over. The message was clear. The mission was clear. With these Elements of Harmony, Luna knew she and her sister would have to battle against chaos, no matter what the cost or what the terrible outcome would be.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Continued Author’s Note: “Wishes Upon Stars” is for DISNEY. This is My Little Pony people! The stars aren’t twinkle-twinkle now, ARE THEY?! Nope.
On a side note: I’m super psyched for the rest of Season 3 so…. YYYEEEEEAAHHHHH! Ahem. Had to do that. ^_^